Double bomb attack kills at least 30 at Iraq mosque

At least 30 people were killed and 25 injured on Friday in a double bomb attack on a Sunni mosque on the outskirts of the Iraqi city of Baquba.

The two bombs were detonated in quick succession at around noon local time as Sunni and Shia worshippers were leaving the al-Salam mosque after prayers in the Umm al-Adham village.

The first bomb exploded as worshippers were exiting the building and the second was detonated as people gathered at the scene to help.

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"We were evacuating the wounded after the first roadside bomb exploded inside a dustbin. Ten minutes later another bomb exploded about six meters away from the first and I got some shrapnel in my stomach," teacher Khalid Jameel, 25, told Reuters from his hospital bed.

It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the attack.

Baquba is about 35 miles north of Baghdad. The city and its surrounding province of Diyala are mostly populated by Sunni Arabs, but the area is also home to significant Shia Muslim and Kurdish minority populations.

Baquba has seen several deadly attacks recently, with sectarian violence across Iraq reaching its highest level since 2008. According to the United Nations, more than 5,000 people have been killed in the country so far this year, with 800 of the deaths occurring in August.