SULAIMANI, Kurdistan Region – Security officials arrested a Farsi-speaking man and confiscated an explosives-filled backpack before it went off at a major Shiite mosque in Sulaimani on Friday, as worshipers were preparing for a religious mourning ceremony.
The security department said that a Farsi-speaking man was arrested as he tried to exit, after leaving behind a backpack in the Shiite mosque, or husseiniyeh, on Sulaimani’s Salim street.
The incident happened as worshipers were preparing to begin ceremonies to mark the death anniversary of Imam Mousa al-Kadhim, a Shiite saint, at the husseiniyeh, the largest in the Kurdistan Region.
The backpack was found to contain 10 kilograms of explosives, the security department said.
"While a number of Shiite citizens were preparing for their religious ceremonies, someone attempted to leave a backpack filled with explosives behind in the mosque,” said a security official.
He said the incident happened around 12:30 pm on Friday at the husseiniyeh, built in 2000 and the largest in the Kurdistan Region. A Rudaw correspondent said that the would-be bomber was arrested by a guard at the mosque, and was tied up until the arrival of security forces.
The foiled attempt appeared to be part of larger coordinated attacks on the Shiites of Iraq during the mourning period. Over the past two days explosions, including a suicide car bombing, have killed at least 30 Shiite pilgrims and wounded tens of others.
Earlier this week, Sulaimani security forces also foiled an attempted attack by three Islamist militants near the main security building in the city. Security sources said that the militants had a car loaded with guns and explosives, and that they intended to attack the building of the security offices.
Despite the Syrian conflict and worsening security in the rest of Iraq, the Kurdistan Region has been able to remain safe. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has its own security and defence forces, which protect borders and provide security in the Kurdish areas of Iraq.
Security in Sulaimani has been a cause for concern since the outcome of Kurdish parliamentary elections last September, in which the Iranian-supported and powerful Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) lost its dominance in its traditional stronghold to the rival Change Movement (Gorran).
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