Suicide bombers kill 36 in northern Iraq

Twin suicide bombings targeting Iraq's Shabak minority and fighting between security forces and militants killed 36 people in the northern province of Nineveh on Friday, officials said.
Provincial capital Mosul is one of Iraq's most dangerous cities, with well-entrenched militant groups carrying out almost daily attacks.
The two suicide bombers blew up vehicles in the Shabak village of Al-Muwaffaqiyah, east of the city, killing four people and wounding 45, police and medical officials said.
Most of Iraq's 30,000 Shabaks follow a blend of Shiite Islam and local beliefs viewed as heretical by Sunni extremists, and they have been periodically targeted for attack.
In west Mosul, four police, three soldiers and 16 militants were killed in clashes, while a mortar round killed a civilian, officials said, according to AFP.