Islamic State Group Claims Responsibility For Deadly Baghdad Mosque Attack

The Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, has claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on a Shiite mosque south of Baghdad, the Associated Press reported Saturday. The attack, which followed Friday prayers, killed 10 people.

ISIS circulated a statement online Saturday that mentioned just a suicide attack. Iraqi officials said a roadside bomb exploded just a few minutes ahead of a suicide attack inside the building.

The extremist group, which controls large portions of northern and western Iraq, said it targeted "rejectionists," as the group refers to Shiites, according to Reuters. The roadside bomb went off as worshippers left prayers. After security forces arrived at the scene, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive vest. The dual attacks at the mosque, which is in the neighborhood of Nahiyet al-Rasheed, killed a total of 10 and wounded 28 more, the Independent reported.

Iraqi officials said four separate attacks in Baghdad Saturday killed eight people and wounded 20 more, the AP reported. Three people, two of whom were Iraqi soldiers, were killed when gunmen fired on a convoy south of Baghdad. Two other people were injured in the attack. Three separate roadside bombs killed five and wounded 18 more.

The attacks claimed by ISIS follow deadly coordinated attacks in Paris last week, for which ISIS also claimed responsibility. The Nov. 13 attacks left 130 people dead and hundreds more wounded in and around Paris. The French city announced Saturday it would extend a ban on public gatherings until Nov. 30.

Iraq has been gripped by a conflict, mostly between Shiites and Sunnis, that has ramped up in intensity amid the rise of extremely hard-line Sunni ISIS insurgents. The United States and its allies targeted ISIS Friday with 20 airstrikes in Iraq and 22 in Syria, Reuters reported. The strikes targeted tactical units, a command facility and fighting positions of ISIS forces near Ramadi in central Iraq, the U.S. military said.