Bomb attack in Baghdad leaves four dead

A bomb planted between a Sunni mosque and a youth centre exploded during prayers, killing four people and wounding another nine, police said.

The blast hit just as worshippers began leaving the al-Ali al-Aadhim mosque in southeastern Baghdad, said police Capt. Ali Mahdi.

The attack came during a four-hour driving ban police hoped would hold down sectarian attacks that have threatened to divide the capital city in recent weeks.

Elsewhere, gunmen in Tikrit killed two civilians who were employed by US troops. The drive-by shooting occurred in the al-Qadissya neighbourhood of Tikrit, about 80 miles north of Baghdad, police said.

Gunmen nearby in Beiji also killed a railway company employee, police said.

Earlier today, a bomb tore through an oil pipeline southwest of Samarra, about 60 miles north of Baghdad. The pipeline carries oil from Iraq’s largest refinery in Beiji to Baghdad’s Dora neighbourhood, police said.

A rocket also exploded in central Baghdad, injuring three, police said.