Yet Another Bombing Spree: 31 Dead, 57 Wounded in Baghdad Double Suicide Bombings

A double suicide bombing spree inside a Shiite mosque in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad on Tuesday has killed 31 and wounded 57 others.

One of the bombers blew himself up at a nearby checkpoint while the other suicide bomber was able to slip inside the mosque during noon prayers. The incident happened in the Habib Ibn al-Mudhaher mosque in al-Qahira, a predominantly Shiite neighborhood in the northeastern section of the Iraqi capital.

The latest bombing reflects the sectarian Sunni-Shiite tensions that has erupted across the country since the beginning of the year. It is believed Sunni extremists continue to escalate their attacks to undermine the Shiite-led government.

Nearly 2,000 have been killed since the start of April, including more than 220 this month. On Sunday and Monday, 33 and 15 people died, respectively, due to various car bombings and attacks across Iraq.

In the latest bombing, most of the casualties were Shiite students from the nearby Imam al-Sadiq University for Islamic Studies.

"The aim of today's attack was only to hurt the Shiites who were there to study or pray, not to fight or kill anybody else," Ali Faleh, a university student who was inside a stationery shop nearby when the explosion occurred, told the AP.

Sunni Arabs have resorted to terrorism acts to express their disgust to the Shiite-led government that took power after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled longtime strongman Saddam Hussein in 2003.