Sectarian violence continues to rise across Iraq, as mortar shells pounded the crowded marketplace in the Shi’ite town of Mussayab, just south of Baghdad. At least 22 were confirmed killed, and 35 others wounded.
Along the highway between Baghdad and the Shi’ite holy city of Karbala, Mussayab has been a popular target for Sunni militants through the sectarian fighting of recent years.
So far no group has claimed credit for the attack, and officials haven’t said exactly where the mortars were fired from, but the market appears to have been the target, and the hits were timed for early evening, when it is most crowded.
Musayyab is less than 20 miles from the Anbar Province, where al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) has been seizing territory. While it’s not confirmed this seems a likely source for such a strike.