Bombs against Iraq Sunni mosques kill nine: officials

Iraqi Sunni Muslim men attend Friday prayers at the Abu Hanifa mosque in Baghdad's Adhamiya district on February 8, 2013. Bombs targeting worshippers gathered for evening prayers at three Sunni mosques in Iraq killed nine people on Tuesday, officials say. (AFP/File)

KIRKUK, Iraq (AFP) – Bombs targeting worshippers gathered for evening prayers at three Sunni mosques in Iraq killed nine people on Tuesday, officials said.

A bomb exploded in the Omar bin Abdulaziz Mosqe in the northern city of Kiruk, while another blast struck near Al-Salihin Mosque close by, killing a total of seven people and wounding 41.

And a car bomb exploded near Al-Imam Ali Mosque in Kut, southeast of Baghdad, killing two people and wounding nine.

Special extended evening prayers are held during the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which began two weeks ago.

Both Sunni and Shiite places of worship have been attacked in recent months, raising fears of a return to the all-out sectarian conflict that killed tens of thousands of people in past years.

With the latest attacks, more than 630 people have been killed in violence so far this month, making July the deadliest month in a year marked by spiralling violence.