Militiamen kill 70 at Iraq Sunni mosque

BAQUBA: Militiamen gunned down 70 people in an apparent revenge attack at an Iraqi Sunni mosque Friday, dealing a blow to government efforts to regain territory seized by jihadist-led militants.

The shooting in Diyala province will increase already significant anger among Iraq´s Sunni Arab minority with the government, undermining an anti-militant drive that ultimately requires Sunni cooperation to succeed.

It came as government forces battled to regain ground in Diyala, and Washington warned of the dangers of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group, which spearheaded an offensive that overran swathes of Iraq in June, and this week released a video of American journalist James Foley being beheaded.

Army and police officers said the attack on the Musab bin Omair Mosque came after militiamen were killed in clashes in the area, while other sources said it followed a roadside bomb near one of their patrols.

Doctors and the officers put the toll from the attack, in which worshippers were sprayed with machinegun fire, at 70 dead and 20 wounded.

The government turned to militiamen to bolster its flagging forces during the IS offensive, sparking a resurgence of groups involved in brutal sectarian killings in past years that will be difficult to dislodge.