Thursday, October 6 2005 09:13 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Hilla (Iraq): At least 25 people were killed and 87 wounded yesterday (Oct 05, 2005) in a suicide attack near a mosque south of Baghdad as Shiites gathered for prayers at the end of their first day of Ramadan, rescue services and police said.

According to a police official from the town of Hilla, a suicide bomber detonated a belt packed with explosives when he entered Ibn an-Nimaa husseiniya, or Shiite mosque, after dusk in the centre of the town.

"Many dead and wounded have been pulled out of the rubble and there are 25 dead and 87 wounded. The search is continuing," said an official of the rescue services for Babil province.

A police spokesman for Babil, of which Hilla is the main town, had earlier given a toll of at least 13 dead and 20 wounded and said that the explosion was caused by a car bomb.

Half of the roof of the historic building, which was restored three years ago, collapsed due to the force of the blast, while several nearby shop fronts were damaged. Furious onlookers gathered outside.

The attack came as up to 200 men, observing the first day of the holy month of Ramadan, were gathering for prayers at the end of a day of fasting.

Today was the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan for Iraq's Shiites, whereas their Sunni brethren had begun marking it a day earlier.

The new strike comes after at least 10 people were killed by car bomb explosion on Friday in a vegetable market in Hilla, 100 kilometres from the capital.