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Bomb leaves 4 dead following prayers in Baghdad | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) – A bomb planted between a Sunni mosque and a youth center exploded during Friday prayers, killing four people and wounding another nine, police said.

The blast hit just as worshippers began leaving the al-Ali al-Aadhim mosque in southeastern Baghdad, said police Capt. Ali Mahdi.

The attack came during a four-hour driving ban police hoped would hold down sectarian attacks that have threatened to divide the capital city in recent weeks.

Elsewhere, gunmen in Tikrit killed two civilians who were employed by U.S. troops. The drive-by shooting occurred shortly after 11 a.m. in the al-Qadissya neighborhood of Tikrit, about 130 kilometers (80 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

Gunmen nearby in Beiji also killed a railroad company employee, police said.

Earlier in the morning Friday, a bomb tore through an oil pipeline southwest of Samarra, about 95 kilometers (60 miles) north of Baghdad. The pipeline carries oil from Iraq’s largest refinery in Beiji to Baghdad’s Dora neighborhood, police said.

A rocket also exploded in downtown Baghdad, injuring three, police said.