BAGHDAD, June 4 (UPI) -- A suicide bomber detonated explosives in his vehicle next to a Shiite office building in Baghdad Monday, killing 18 people and wounding 125 others, police said.
Officials said the office of Shiite religious affairs in a north-central district in Iraq's capital was the target, CNN reported.
Officials discovered and safely detonated another improvised explosive device later Monday behind the Sunni Endowment office in Adhamiya, The New York Times reported.
The attack took place amidst an escalated dispute between the Sunni and Shiite endowment offices over control of the Askariya Shrine in Samarra, where a 2006 bombing set off waves of sectarian violence, the newspaper said.
After the 2006 bombing, government troops overtook the shrine, which Sunnis and Shiites alike claim as a source of pride and business. The government had moved recently to transfer control of the shrine to the Shiite endowment, though it had been under Sunni control prior to 2006, the Times reported.
"Iraqis need to stop killing each other," said Sadeq al-Mousawi, who was near the Shiite building when the bomb exploded. "What did the victims of today do to be killed? Sectarianism has no mercy against anyone, and there are groups of criminals and militias used by officials and politicians to achieve their specific agendas."
Officials said it was unclear who committed the attack, though some residents blamed the government, the Times reported.
