Iraq Suicide Bomb Kills Almost 100 At Funeral

Almost 100 people have died after two suicide bombers targeted a funeral in the Shi'ite neighbourhood of Sadr City in Baghdad.

One bomber detonated his explosives-laden car as he drove up near a tent where mourners had gathered and another on foot blew himself up nearby.

A third explosion followed as police, ambulances and firefighters were gathering at the scene.

The explosions set several cars on fire, sending a towering plume of thick black smoke over the city.

One of the mourners, Sheik Sattar al Fartousi, said: "I saw several charred bodies on the ground and tents on fire and also burning cars.

"Wounded people were screaming in pain.

"The scene was horrible. The funeral turned into an inferno."

He said the first blast went off as dinner was being served in one of several tents set up for the funeral of a member of the al Fartousi tribe.

He estimated that more than 500 people were attending the event.

Hussein Abdul Khaliq, a government employee who lives in the area, said: "This funeral was not a military post or a ministry building, yet it was still targeted.

"This shows that no place and no one is safe in Iraq."

The attack happened at sunset on Saturday, hours after insurgents launched a suicide attack on a police headquarters in the city of Beiji, about 110 miles north of Baghdad, killing seven policemen and wounding 21 others.

In that attack, police said guards managed to kill one suicide bomber, but three other bombers were able to set off their explosive belts inside the compound.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Al Qaeda's branch in Iraq frequently targets Shi'ite civilians and security forces in an attempt to undermine public confidence in the Shi'ite-led government in Baghdad.

Thousands of Iraqis have been killed in violent attacks in recent months - a level of bloodshed not seen since Iraq pulled back from the brink of civil war in 2008 - despite appeals for restraint from Shi'ite and Sunni political leaders.

More than 4,000 people have been killed in violent attacks between April and August, according to the United Nations.