13 dead as Iraq Sunni mosques close over unrest

[World News Headlines -]

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Attacks mostly targeting Sunni-majority areas of Iraq killed 13 people on Friday as the minority community shuttered countless mosques nationwide, complaining that security forces were failing to provide adequate protection. The move follows a months-long surge in bloodshed, with the latest wave of violence leaving nearly 200 people dead in just the past week, that has forced Baghdad to appeal for international help in combatting militancy just months before its first general election in four years. Officials have also voiced concern over a resurgent Al-Qaeda emboldened by the civil war in neighbouring Syria which has provided the jihadist network's front groups with increased room to plan operations in Iraq. Attacks on Friday struck Sunni-majority areas in and around Baghdad, and the main northern city of Mosul, leaving at least 13 dead and 25 others wounded, security and medical officials said.

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