Iraqi Muslim sect targeted by suicide bomber

MOSUL, Iraq, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- A suicide bomber targeted a funeral near Mosul, Iraq, Saturday, killing 20 and injuring scores more, officials said.

No one has claimed responsibility for the bombing. The target was a funeral for a member of the Shabak sect, a group of about 50,000 Muslims with their own language and belief system. The Shabaks live in Nineveh province outside Mosul and they are believed to be an offshoot of the Shiite branch of Islam.

The bombing came a day after a Sunni mosque was bombed in Baquba, killing 30 people, the BBC said. It wasn't immediately clear whether the funeral bombing was in retaliation.

The United Nations said 5,000 people have been killed so far in sectarian violence in Iraq -- 800 in August alone.