Suicide bomber kills at least 19 in Baghdad funeral

Attacks targeting Shiites in Baghdad, including a suicide bombing at a funeral in a mosque, killed at least 19 people Friday, security and medical officials said.

The suicide bombing inside the Al-Ashara al-Mubashareen mosque in the Amil area of south Baghdad killed at least 17 people and wounded 33, the officials said.

Two officials said the funeral was for a member of the volunteer paramilitary force known as the Popular Mobilisation units.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but suicide bombings are a tactic used exclusively by Sunni extremists in Iraq, including the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) jihadist group, who consider Shiites to be heretics.

The Popular Mobilisation units -- which are dominated by Iranian-backed Shiite militias -- are some of the most effective forces in the battle against ISIS, which overran large parts of the country last year.