Car bomb kills three in Iraq's Baquba

BAQUBA, Iraq, June 28 (Reuters) A car bomb killed three men in a group of Iraqis lining up for day labouring jobs in the city of Baquba, northeast of Baghdad, today, police said.

A further 12 people, including children, were wounded in the early morning blast. The attack was typical of sectarian attacks common in Diyala province, although the religious identity of the victims was not immediately clear.

Earlier, during the hours of darkness, militants fired mortars at a Sunni mosque in Shahraban, a town close to Baquba, in an apparently sectarian attack. There were no casualties but the mosque and some 20 shops and a bank were damaged by fire.

The province, where al Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed earlier this month, has seen much sectarian violence among its diverse population. A number of Shi'ite shrines were destroyed in attacks there six weeks ago.

REUTERS KD PC1225