Mosque Massacre Undermines Anti-IS Drive

A sectarian attack at a mosque in Iraq has killed at least 68 Sunni Muslims, plunging efforts to form a united front against jihadists into crisis.

Officials say a suicide bomber blew himself up in the mosque north of Baghdad, with Shia militiamen picking off fleeing worshippers with machine guns.

Attacks on mosques are acutely sensitive and have in the past unleashed a deadly series of revenge killings and counter attacks in Iraq.

PM designate Haider al Abadi is trying to form a more inclusive government

The latest attack, in Diyala province, is seen as a blow to government efforts to secure backing from Sunni groups in its battle against Islamic State (IS) extremists.

Prime Minister designate Haider al Abadi, a moderate Shia, is attempting to form a more inclusive government following the resignation of outgoing PM Nouri al Maliki.

But two influential Sunni politicians - Parliamentary Speaker Salim al Jabouri and Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al Mutlak - have now pulled out of talks with the main Shia political alliance after the massacre.

Member of Parliament Nahida al Dayani, who is from Diyala, said about 150 worshippers were at Imam Wais mosque when the militiamen arrived.

Diyala has seen heavy fighting between Iraqi troops and IS. File pic

"Sectarian militias entered and opened fire at worshippers. Most mosques have no security," she told Reuters.

The attack came as thousands of Peshmerga and counter-terrorism soldiers continued to battle Islamic militants around the nearby towns of Jalula and Sadiyah.

Sky's Chief Correspondent Stuart Ramsay said the Peshmerga fighters were desperately in need of weapons and were effectively in "lockdown". 

"Peshmerga frontline positions are regularly hit from far away. There are scorch marks and burning patches everywhere," Ramsay said.

Peshmerga are fighting to gain territory from militants north of Baghdad

The extremist group pushed Kurdish forces out of the town of Jalula earlier this month after heavy fighting and the Peshmerga troops are trying to reclaim territory.

Meanwhile, the US, which is carrying out airstrikes against militants, ramped up its rhetoric over the beheading of journalist James Foley.

In Washington, Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes said the murder "represents a terrorist attack against our country".

He said the US would not be restricted by the Iraq-Syria border when it considers further action against Islamic State militants.

The US says the killing of James Foley was a "terrorist attack" on America

Elsewhere, in the northern city of Mosul, Islamic State militants stoned a man to death after one of its self-appointed courts sentenced him for adultery, witnesses said.

The stoning was the first known instance of the punishment by Islamic State militants in Iraq since it seized large areas of the country in a June offensive.

Having poured in from Syria across a desert border that it does not recognise, the movement has declared its own caliphate.

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