Mortar attack against Iraqi town kills at least 22

By AP - Feb 20,2014 - Last updated at Feb 20,2014

BAGHDAD — A mortar attack struck a busy area in a mainly Shiite town south of Iraq’s capital Thursday, killing at least 22 people and wounding more than 50, authorities said.

The five mortar rounds slammed into a busy market, a residential building and a parking lot around 7pm (1700 GMT, 11am EST) as people returned home from work and shopped in Musayyib, police and hospital officials said.

Police said it appeared the rounds came from the nearby Sunni-dominated town of Jurf Al Sakr, though it wasn’t immediately clear who fired them.

The officials gave the casualty toll and details on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorised to release information to journalists.

Musayyib, about 60 kilometres south of Baghdad, is in an area that holds a volatile mix of Sunnis and Shiites and was a flashpoint for some of the worst sectarian violence in past years.

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