ISIS has claimed an attack at a Shiite mosque south of the Iraqi capital that officials said killed at least ten people Friday. ISIS, in a statement, said a suicide bomber named as Abu Hussein al-Ansari carried out the attack inside the mosque, while security and medical officials said it took place nearby after Friday prayers, also wounding at least 28 people. ISIS only mentioned the suicide bombing, but officials said it was preceded by a roadside bomb, and that the attack took place after security forces arrived at the scene. ISIS frequently carries out attacks against civilians from Iraq's Shiite Muslim majority, whom it considers to be heretics. The Friday attack came a week after a series of bombings claimed by ISIS targeted Shiites in Baghdad, killing at least 19 people. ISIS overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in June 2014, sweeping security forces aside, and though Iraqi forces have since pushed the extremists back, the group still holds much of western Iraq. Bombings in Baghdad have become less frequent since the ISIS offensive last year, apparently because the extremists have been occupied with fighting elsewhere.
