Suicide attacks kill 31 in Iraq

BAGHDAD: Twin suicide bombings killed 31 people after midday prayers at a Shiite religious center in Baghdad yesterday, the latest in violence sparking fears of a revival of full-blown sectarian bloodshed.
Several students from an adjacent university were among the dead, with dozens of others wounded, while security forces shut down the neighborhood to vehicle traffic and sought to defuse a suspected car bomb nearby.
Many victims were university students who were taking a break from studying for their exams to pray.
“What sins did these innocent students commit?” asked Mustafa Kamil, a student who was about to leave the site of the attacks to visit the morgue to help identify the dead. “A few minutes ago, I was standing with my friend, and he asked me to go pray together. But I told him I wanted to study some more, to be ready for our exams.
“He said, ‘I am going to pray, God will help me succeed’. He went, and now he will never come back.”
According to witnesses and officials, the bombers, who were dressed in suits, began by gunning down the building’s guard, followed by the first attacker blowing himself up at the entrance to the hall.
The second militant took advantage of the ensuing chaos and ran through the crowd before setting off his explosives inside.