From correspondents in Baghdad, Iraq, 05:02 PM IST

Two suicide bomb attacks Thursday killed 16 Shia worshippers and wounded 33 others outside two mosques in the Iraqi capital as the devotees were observing the end of the holy month of Ramadan, an interior ministry source said.

The first suicide attack occurred when a suicide bomber wearing an explosive vest blew himself up outside al-Rasoul mosque in Baghdad's al-Jadida district, also called New Baghdad, killing 12 worshippers, and injuring 25, the source said on condition of anonymity.

In a separate incident, another suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden car into a crowd of worshippers who were leaving a mosque in the al-Zaafaraniyah neighbourhood, leaving two worshippers and two soldiers dead and eight people injured, the source said.

Iraqi security forces immediately cordoned off the two areas, while ambulances rushed to transport the victims to nearby hospitals, he added.

Violence still haunts Iraq though the US military said earlier that the level of violence was at a four-year low.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)