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There was no
immediate claim of responsibility for the blast at a mosque in
the predominately Shi'ite neighborhood of Hay al-Amil.
The ultra-hardline Sunni militants of Islamic State who control
large parts of Iraq's north and west frequently set off bombs in
the capital and further afield.
The funeral was for a member of the Hashid Shaabi, a government
umbrella group comprised mostly of Shi'ite fighters seen as a
critical force in the battle against Islamic State.
Iraq has been afflicted by sectarian conflict mainly between
Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims since shortly after the U.S.-led
invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003.
The rise of Islamic State has exacerbated those tensions and
prompted U.S.-led air strikes on the militants in areas of Iraq
and neighboring Syria where the jihadists aim to establish a
modern-day caliphate.
(Reporting by Baghdad bureau; Writing by Stephen Kalin; Editing
by Mark Heinrich)
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