4:3 Bomb blast in the south of capital leaves at least 20 people dead

(21 Feb 2014) Mourners in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, held funerals on Friday for some of at least 20 people killed in a mortar attack on a market in the mainly Shiite town of Mussayib. Many of those injured at the attack were taken to hospital where they were visited by their families. At least 35 people were wounded in the attack where three mortar rounds were fired at shoppers in the crowded market earlier on Friday. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. However, attacks by Sunni militants on Shiite communities have been frequent, aiming to undermine confidence in the Shiite-led government's efforts to maintain security in Iraq, two years after the pullout of US troops from the country. Iraq has seen resurgence in violence over the past year. The Iraqi government blamed the rise in violence to the war in neighbouring Syria. According to United Nations figures, 2013 had the highest death toll since the worst of the country's sectarian bloodletting began to subside in 2007. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...