Death toll in suicide bombing at Shi'ite funeral in Iraq rises to 40
BAGHDAD - A suicide bomber blew himself up at a funeral for the relative of a Shi'ite Muslim militia commander in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala on Monday, killing at least 40 people in an attack claimed by Islamic State.
The bombing in Muqdadiya, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Baghdad, killed six local commanders of the Hashid Shaabi umbrella group of Shi'ite militias who were attending the funeral ceremony, security officials and police in Diyala said.
A further 58 people were wounded, the sources said.
Islamic State, an ultra-hardline Sunni group that controls large parts of northern and western Iraq, claimed responsibility for the blast, according to a statement posted on the SITE monitoring group's Twitter account.
