At least 25 dead in Iraq mosque bombing

A BOMB exploded at the entrance of a Shi'ite Muslim mosque south of Baghdad as hundreds gathered for prayers on the first day of Ramadan and for the funeral of a man killed in an earlier bombing.

At least 25 were killed and 87 wounded.

The explosion hit the Husseiniyat Ibn al-Nama mosque, ripping through strings of light-bulbs and flags hung around the entrance to celebrate the start of the holy month. The mosque's facade was ravaged, shops nearby were destroyed and several nearby cars were damaged.

It was the second major bomb attack in a week in Hillah, one of the most insurgent-hit towns in Southern Iraq, the heartland of the Shi'ite majority. Al-Qaida in Iraq has called for stepped up attacks during Ramadan and has declared an all-out war on Iraq's Shi'ites.

Police believe the blast was caused by a planted explosive. It detonated on the footpath next to the mosque's entrance at 6pm as hundreds of men gathered for prayers before returning home to eat the meal that ends the day's sunrise-to-sunset fast.

Others were there for a funeral service being held for a restaurant owner who was killed by a bomb that ripped through his restaurant on Monday.

One survivor, Asaad Jassem, said: "While I was praying, I heard a huge blast and realised parts of the mosque were crumbling over my head. Some parts of the mosque's ceiling fell onto worshippers, I saw people on the ground bleeding."

Yesterday was the first day of Ramadan for Iraq's Shi'ite majority. Sunnis began marking the month a day earlier.

The attack came five days after a car bomb exploded in a crowded Hillah market, killing 10 people, including three women and two children. A day earlier, a string of car bombs hit in Balad, a Shi'ite town north of Baghdad, killing 100 people.

The bombing was the latest in a string of attacks by Sunni-led insurgents that have targeted Shi'ite Muslims in the lead-up to an October 15 referendum on Iraq's new constitution.

Insurgents have vowed to wreck the vote. Thousands of US troops are waging two major offensives to try to put down al-Qaida in its strongholds in the mostly-Sunni Northwest.

Moderate Sunnis want to beat the constitution in the polls, fearing it will split the country in three and leave them weakest.