Suicide bomber kills 15 in northern Iraq

Bodies of victims killed in a suicide attack that tore through a residential area of Al-Muwaffaqiyah, a village east of Mosul, lined up for identification on 17 October, 2013 (AFP/GETTY IMAGES)

A suicide bomb attack has killed at least 15 in an ethnic minority village in northern Iraq.

The attack - which used a car laden with explosives - comes in the week that Muslims mark the holiday of Eid al-Adha, a time for family celebrations and outings. According to the Reuters news agency, local officials said the blast levelled houses and wounded at least 52.

CNN has reported 17 killed.

The Shabak village of al-Mouafaqiyah is near the country's third-largest city, Mosul, 225 miles north of Baghdad. The region is home to most of the country's small Shabak community - which has its own distinct language and is primarily Shi'ite. Many were driven out of the city by Sunni militants during the sectarian fighting that raged after the 2003 US-led invasion.

It is the second time the minority has been attacked in as many months. A suicide attack at a funeral in another Shabak village near Mosul in September killed at least 20 people.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.