Mosques targeted in recent violence

Thousands of Iraqis demonstrated against Israel and the United States.
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- Bombs and mortars struck Shiite and Sunni mosques in the Baghdad area Friday, the latest in a week of tit-for-tat sectarian attacks that have killed more than 250 people.
The deadliest explosion came as worshippers left services at a Sunni mosque in northern Baghdad, killing 14 people and wounding five, police said.
The bomb, planted near the door of the mosque, exploded during a four-hour driving ban starting at 11 a.m. Friday in the capital, aimed at preventing car bombs that have frequently targeted weekly prayers.
Earlier Friday, five mortar rounds fell near the Shiite Imam al-Hussein mosque in Balad Ruz, 45 miles northeast of Baghdad, killing two people and wounding six, provincial police said.
Shiite clerics, meanwhile, denounced Israel's attacks on Lebanon during Friday prayers, and hundreds of Iraqis demonstrated to show solidarity with the Lebanese. Israel began its assault after guerrillas from the Shiite group Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers in a raid inside Israel.
Thousands of Iraqis also demonstrated in the Shiite district of Sadr City in Baghdad and the southeastern cities of Kut and Amarah, praising the leader of Hezbollah and denouncing Israel and the United States.
Other violence
Besides the fatalities in the mosque attacks, police on Friday reported least 34 other violent deaths, including 12 Shiites found buried in a common grave in Tal Afar.
In other violence Friday:
* Gunmen attacked an Iraqi army checkpoint on a highway near Kirkuk, in northern Iraq, killing 11 soldiers and wounding three.
* Gunmen in southeastern Baghdad opened fire on a minivan carrying passengers to the Shiite holy city of Karbala, killing five, including a woman and a child.
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