KIRKUK / SALAHUDDIN, Iraq
At least nine people were killed in a bomb blast when terrorists targeted a Shiite mosque in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk.
Initial reports said the attackers parked an explosives-laden vehicle outside the Mujteba Husseiniyah mosque Thursday afternoon. Another 45 people were wounded in the blast and many are in a critical condition.
The mosque was sheltering members of the Shiite Turkmen minority who had fled to Kirkuk ahead of military advances by fighters from the Islamic State, formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL.
Security sources said the blast in Tisin neighborhood significantly damaged the mosque and nearby buildings.
Earlier on Thursday, 39 IS militants were killed in an air attack by Iraqi government forces in northern Salahuddin province.
Warplanes also pounded IS positions in Gawar district, around 20 km (12 miles) from Erbil, the capital of Kurdish northern Iraq.
IS rebels have reportedly taken control of Bartella, 45 km from Erbil and residents of Makhmour fled as IS forces approached.
Fighters linked to IS captured Sinjar and Rabia in Mosul province Sunday after fierce battles, forcing thousands of civilians to flee north.
Around one million civilians have been displaced so far amid the ongoing clashes in the north and west of the country.
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