21 Killed by Suicide Bombings in Northern Iraq

Two suicide bombers blew themselves up in a packed cafe in northern Iraq, killing at least 21 people.

Photo: 21 Killed by Suicide Bombings in Northern Iraq

Iraqi officials said that at least 32 people were also wounded when the bombers detonated suicide belts packed with explosives in the cafe in the Kalaa neighbourhood of Sinjar town, RTE.ie reports.

The double bombing occurred about 5 p.m. Most of the victims were Yazidis, a Kurdish-speaking religious minority.

The attack, like other recent bombings, appeared intended to exacerbate tensions along a 300-mile stretch of disputed territory near the Kurdish north, pitting the Kurdish autonomous government against Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's administration in Baghdad, The Washington Post reports.

The attack comes two years after four suicide truck bombs went off simultaneously in the same area, killing more than 400 Yazidis.

Bomb attacks have killed more than 100 people since Friday in Baghdad, Kirkuk and Mosul.

The bloodshed is the latest in a wave of violence that has occurred since American forces pulled back from urban areas in June, Voice of America reports