Baghdad suicide bomber kills 29 in attack on Sunni mosque

A man strolled into the middle of gathered worshippers in Baghdad's largest Sunni mosque yesterday, disguised as a beggar, before detonating a bomb, killing 29. The imam of the Umm al-Qura mosque, Sheik Ahmed Abdul Gafur al-Samarraie, who was speaking at the time, is known for his sermons denouncing violent extremism. Sheik al-Samarraie, although only a few feet from the bomber at the moment of detonation, was unharmed. The Iraqi government has blamed al-Qaeda for the attack; no one has claimed responsibility at this time. The fear of the government is that such an attack will reignite sectarian tensions; the hope of those who planned this attack might have been the same, although the urge to silence a voice of moderation such as Sheik al-Samarraie cannot be ruled out. Adding to the tension in Iraq, firebrand Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has called for mass demonstrations following Ramadan to protest the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Al-Sadr charges the Maliki government with doing too little to improve public services in Iraq.

Umm al-Qura Mosque in Baghdad, site of Sunday's suicide bombing; source: Wikipedia