Iraqi police: 24 killed in Baghdad bombings

[July 31, 2009]  BAGHDAD (AP) -- Multiple bombs have exploded near three Shiite mosques in Baghdad as worshippers were leaving Friday prayers, killing at least 24 and wounding dozens more, Iraqi police officials said.

The bombings shattered a period of relative calm in the Iraqi capital, raising to at least 303 Iraqis killed in what has been one of the least deadly months in Iraq for both Iraqi civilians and U.S. troops since the war began. Only seven American troops have been killed.

The deadliest attack Friday came when a car bomb exploded near a Shiite mosque in the northern Baghdad neighborhood of Shaab, killing at least 20 people and wounding 17 others, said two Iraqi police officials. The casualties were confirmed by a medical official.

At about the same time, near simultaneous explosions struck a Shiite mosque near the Diyala bridge, in southern Baghdad, killing four worshippers and wounding 17 others, the two officials said.

An unexploded roadside bomb was also found nearby, they said.

A roadside bomb exploded near a third mosque in the eastern Baghdad, wounding six worshippers.

The officials all spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.

___

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE.
AP's earlier story is at right.

BAGHDAD (AP) -- Iraqi police say multiple car bombs have exploded near three Shiite mosques in Baghdad, killing 19 people.

Two Iraqi police officials say the first bomb killed ten people in the northern Baghdad neighborhood of Shaab. The officials say the bomb struck just as Shiite worshippers were leaving Friday prayers.

The officials say more explosions struck near two other Shiite mosques in northern Baghdad, killing another nine people.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.

The bombings come during one what has been one of the least deadly periods in Iraq since the war began in 2003.

[Associated Press; By CHELSEA J. CARTER]

Associated Press writer Bushra Juhi contributed to the updated report.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.