Bombs slay Iraqi shoppers, worshippers

BAGHDAD — A bomb exploded on a busy street filled with shoppers in northern Iraq, part of a series of attacks that killed at least 19 people Friday, officials said, the latest in a wave of violence roiling the country.

The explosion struck a commercial street in Mosul, killing 12 people and wounding 30, police said.

Earlier Friday, a bomb exploded just after Friday prayers as Sunni worshippers left the Ali Bin Abi Talib Mosque in Baghdad’s western Shurta district.

A second bomb, planted farther down the street, exploded seconds later as worshippers tried to flee from the first blast, officials said. Police said the two bombings killed five people and wounded 15.

In the city of Fallujah, a former al-Qaida stronghold 40 miles west of Baghdad, gunmen opened fire on a security checkpoint, killing two police officers and wounding two, police said.

Hospital officials anonymously confirmed the casualties in the latest attacks. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks.