There was no claim of responsibility for the attacks, which came against a tense regional backdrop following the execution by Saudi Arabia of prominent Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr.
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The Interior Ministry confirmed attacks on Sunni mosques in Hilla province without providing details and warned the population against being dragged into sectarian conflict. In Hilla, about 80 km from the capital, a police captain said the Ammar bin Yasser mosque in Bakerli neighborhood was bombed after midnight.
Iraqi Shi’ites protesting the January 2 execution of Saudi Shi’ite cleric Nimr al-Nimr separately marched in Baghdad and southern cities.
“We saw smoke rising from the dome of the mosque”.
The government of Iraq has responded to Nimr’s execution with statements warning against any attempt to fuel sectarian tensions in the region.
The spark for Sunday’s attacks appears to have been the execution a day earlier of prominent Shi’ite cleric Nimr al-Nimr in Saudi Arabia, which triggered angry reactions in Shi’ite-ruled Iraq and Iran.
The Gulf monarchy was followed by Bahrain and Sudan in severing ties with Tehran.
The White House spokesman also expressed concern about the Iranians’ failure to protect the Saudi diplomatic facility. “We have leads and security measures will be taken near mosques”, said Khafaji, pledging to rebuild the buildings.
The embassy was reopened on Friday after being closed since 1990, when former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, promoting Riyadh to cut ties with Baghdad.
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Recently, the Saudi ambassador choice in Iraq wrote in a post on his personal page in a social network that he is in full security supported by the Iraqi government. Police prevented the crowd entering the Green Zone, an area of Baghdad where the Saudi Embassy is located.
