Iran slams attack on Sunni mosque in Iraq’s Diyala

25 August 2014 | 23:45 Code : 1937435 Latest Headlines

The Islamic Republic of Iran has denounced a deadly bomb attack against a Sunni mosque in Iraq’s eastern Diyala province.

On Friday, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham expressed sympathy to the victims’ families, who lost their loved ones during Friday prayers in a village mosque south of the city of Baquba, about 120 kilometers (75 miles) from the capital Baghdad.

Afkham said Takfiri militants seek to foment discord and sectarian tension in crisis-hit Iraq in a bid to destabilize the country.

She noted that the Iraqi nation is determined to stand up to Takfiri terrorism, saying, the “terrorists aim to undermine the process of the Iraqi people’s national integrity through adopting seditious approaches such as attacking worshippers at Shia and Sunni mosques.”

At least 68 people were killed in Friday’s attack, in which a bomb explosion at the mosque was followed by gunmen’s shooting of the worshippers.

Iraq has been fighting ISIL Takfiri terrorists since they took control of Mosul on June 10. The takeover was followed by the fall of the city of Tikrit, located 140 kilometers (87 miles) northwest of the capital Baghdad. The control of Tikrit was later retaken by the Iraqi army.

The ISIL terrorists have been committing heinous crimes in the captured areas, including the mass execution of civilians and Iraqi security forces.

Soldiers of the Iraqi army have been engaged in heavy fighting with the militants on different fronts and have so far been able to push back militants in several areas.

The United States has also been carrying out air strike against the ISIL militants.