Scores killed in Iraq bombings

Baghdad: Bombings in Baghdad and the northern city of Kirkuk have killed at least 42 people in Iraq as the government investigated a deadly attack on a Sunni mosque the day before.

In Kirkuk, three bombs exploded in a crowded commercial district killing 31 people and wounding dozens, Kirkuk deputy police chief Tarhan Abdel-Rahman said on Saturday.

In Baghdad, a suicide bomber had driven an explosives-laden car into the gate of the intelligence headquarters in Karrada district, killing six civilians and five security personnel and injuring 24 others, a police officer said.

The attacks came after the Parliament speaker Salim al-Jabouri said that a committee of security officials and lawmakers were probing Friday's attack against a village mosque in Diyala province, northeast of the capital, which killed at least 73 people. The results of the investigation are expected in two days' time.

Whether the attack was carried out by the Shia militia or the ISIS who have captured a large part of Iraq and Syria, is not yet known. Due to the attack, two major Sunni parliamentary blocs have cancelled the talks on forming a new government creating a hurdle for Shia prime minister-designate Haider al-Abadi as he struggles to reach out to Sunnis to form a government by September 10 that can confront the Islamic State fighters.

Iraqi President Fouad Massoum, a Kurd, condemned Friday's attack and appealed "to all for self-restraint and to act wisely." He promised the incident would be "properly investigated and its perpetrators held to account."

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was "deeply concerned about the impact such acts of sectarian violence will have on the already grave security situation and on the political process".

The European Union said the "heinous crime" should not stand in the way of government formation and urged Iraqis to unite against violence.