A suicide bomber blew himself during a funeral in the courtyard of an Iraqi Shia mosque today, killing at least 36 people and injuring 25.
"As we were inside the mosque we saw a ball of fire and heard a huge explosion," said Tahir Abdullah Sultan (45).
"After that blood and pieces of flesh were scattered around the place," he added. The attack took place in the northern city of Mosul.
The explosion took place during a funeral in the courtyard of a mosque that was still under construction.
The mosque is located in a poor neighbourhood and surrounded by many homes. Windows of cars parked outside the mosque shattered.
Insurgents have in the past targeted Shia mosques, funerals and funeral processions.
Rows of overturned white plastic chairs were stained in blood, which also pooled around the courtyard.
Body parts, believed to be of the suicide bomber, were scattered around the area and the stench of gunpowder and blood clouded the yard.
"We heard a loud explosion, after the cloud of smoke and dust dispersed we saw the scattered bodies of the fallen and smelled gunpowder," said Adnan al-Bayati, a 45-year-old witness.
Northern Mosul has been a hotbed of insurgent activity and the scene of many bombings, drive-by shootings and assassinations against the country's security services, Shiite majority and people thought to be working with US-led forces.
AP