Thousands protest against Israel 14/07/2006 14:42 - (SA)
Baghdad - A bomb struck a Sunni mosque in Baghdad after Friday prayers, killing seven people and wounding five, defying a driving ban aimed at preventing such attacks, while mortars barraged a Shi'ite mosque north of the capital.
The attack against the Sunni mosque occurred at 14:00 as worshippers were leaving after religious services in northern Baghdad, police lieutenant Mohammed Khayoun said, giving the casualty toll.
He said the bomb was planted near the door of the mosque.
Strikes against mosques
Earlier on Friday, five mortar rounds fell near the Shi'ite Imam al-Hussein mosque in Balad Ruz, 70km northeast of Baghdad, killing two people and wounding six, provincial police said.
The strikes against the mosques were the latest in a week of tit-for-tat sectarian attacks, although violence appeared to ebb on Friday, the start of the Islamic weekend.
Authorities also have imposed a weekly four hour driving ban starting at 11:00 to prevent car bombs that have frequently targeted the main Islamic weekly religious services.
Israeli attacks on Lebanon denounced
Shi'ite clerics, meanwhile, denounced the Israeli attacks on Lebanon during Friday prayers, while hundreds of Iraqis demonstrated to show solidarity with the Lebanese as fears mounted that violence in the region could spiral out of control.
"We condemn and denounce the crimes of the Zionist enemy against our Lebanese people," Shi'ite Sheik Asaad al-Nassiri, an aide to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, said in his sermon at the Kufa mosque.
"This offensive is considered an oppressive act against the Lebanese people and is targeting the legitimate resistance that has been an example of bravery."
Thousands protest
Several thousand Shi'ites also took to the streets in the Shi'ite slum of Sadr City in eastern Baghdad to protest the Israeli military action.
"No, no to Israel, no no to America," demonstrators chanted.
"Let everyone understand that we will not stand idle," read one of the banners carried by the demonstrators.
"Iraq and Lebanon are calling, enough silence Arabs," read another.
Hundreds also staged protests in the cities of Kut and Amarah, southeast of Baghdad, denouncing the Israelis.
