At least 11 Iraqi worshippers were martyred on Wednesday as a car bomb exploded southeast of Baghdad.

At least 11 Iraqi worshippers were martyred on Wednesday as a car bomb exploded southeast of Baghdad.

The attack took place when a vehicle packed with explosives ripped through a group of as worshippers were marking the martyrdom of Imam Ali (AS), and was shortly before the Iftar, meal that breaks the daily fast Muslims engage in during the holy month of Ramadan.

The 6:45 pm (1545 GMT) attack, in Al-Tanmiyah village, around 50 kilometers southeast of Baghdad, killed 11 people and wounded 20 others, according to a police lieutenant colonel and a medic, both of who declined to be identified. Most of the victims were men, the officials said, according to AFP.
It also sparked a large fire in a nearby market and damaged adjacent houses.

Earlier on Wednesday, gunmen shot dead a lawyer, his judicial investigator son and six of their family members in a town north of Baghdad.

The shooting took place at the home of Khayrallah Shati, a lawyer in the town of Baiji, 200 kilometres north of the capital, killing him, his wife, five sons and another relative who was staying with them.

"Khayrallah Shati, his wife and five sons, and a family guest staying with them, were killed early this morning in Baiji," a police officer said on condition of anonymity.

"Gunmen raided his house and opened fire on the family.... Initial reports are that this is a terrorist attack, but the investigation is still ongoing."