By DPA
Baghdad : A series of bombings and mortar shelling ripping through an area near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul has left over 175 Iraqis killed and 200 wounded, according to an Iraqi Army spokesman.
Two trucks rigged with explosives were detonated simultaneously in Siba Sheikh Khidr housing compound late Tuesday, the independent Voices of Iraq (VOI) press agency said.
The housing compound, described as the largest in Sinjar district, 120 km northwest of Mosul, reportedly came under a mortar attack following the double explosion.
It was not immediately clear why the compound was targeted.
Most of the victims are reportedly from the Yazidi sect, since the targeted district is largely inhabited by Yazidis, a religious sect whose followers are concentrated in northern Iraq. Around 350,000 Yazidis are living in villages around Mosul.
BBC reported that there had been rising tension recently between Yazidis and Muslims in the area north-west of Mosul. The latest issues had arisen from the reported stoning in April by Yazidis of a girl from their community who had converted to Islam.
The same security source told VOI that two more explosions occurred in the nearby Kar Izir area, also in Sinjar, causing many buildings to collapse.
According to the Iraqi news agency, “the explosions set people in panic, while ambulances were still rushing the wounded to Sinjar hospital.”
A hospital source from the district said that they received a large number of people seeking treatment. “The hospital corridors are now crowded with the wounded,” the source said.
According to VOI, US military helicopters are helping to fly the wounded to nearby hospitals.