At least 15 people killed in bomb attack in Shabak village in northern Iraq

BBC:
Suicide bomb targets Shia in northern Iraq



At least 15 people have been killed in a suicide bomb in northern Iraq, in the latest attack on the Shia community.

The incident happened in the village of Mwafaqiya, where members of Iraq's Shabak minority live.

Qusay Abbas, a former Shabak representative in the Mosul provincial council, said the attack happened early in the morning.

"A suicide truck bomber detonated himself amidst the houses of my village," he said.

"There are still some people under the debris of their houses."

It is not clear who carried out the attack, but the Shabak - who largely follow a faith considered an offshoot of Shia Islam - are frequently targeted by Sunni militants.

Last month, a suicide bomb attack on a Shabak funeral in Nineveh killed more than 20 people.

The monitoring group Iraq Body Count says more than 6,000 people have been killed in violence across the country this year.

Sectarian violence has surged across Iraq in recent months, reaching its highest level since 2008.