Mourners pray over coffins of victims killed in Monday's bomb attacks, during a funeral in Najaf, 160 km (100 miles) south of Baghdad, May 20, 2013. More than 70 people were killed in a series of car bombings and suicide attacks targeting Shi'ite Muslims across Iraq on Monday, police and medics said, extending the worst sectarian violence since U.S. troops withdrew in December 2011. The attacks increased the number killed in sectarian clashes in the past week to more than 200. Tensions between Shi'ites, who now lead Iraq, and minority Sunni Muslims have reached a point where some fear a return to all-out civil conflict.
Relatives carry the coffin of an Iraqi police officer killed by militants during a funeral in Najaf, around 160 km (99 miles). south of Baghdad May 20, 2013. The attacks took place in the Sunni heartland of Anbar, where gunmen on Saturday ambushed and kidnapped 10 policemen near the provincial capital of Ramadi, and four members of a government-backed Sunni militia fighters were killed near Falluja city When Sunni-Shi'ite bloodshed was at its height in 2006-07, Anbar, which shares a border with Syria, was in the grip of al Qaeda's local affiliate, the Islamic State of Iraq, which has regained strength in recent months.
Two men wearing wooden shoes attend a mass baptising ceremony for Mandaen followers at the Lek River near Houten May 20, 2013. May 20 is a holy day for the Mandaeans all over the world as followers cleanse themselves by being baptised in a river of choice. The Mandaeans, also known as the Sabeans, are a monotheistic and pacifistic religious community who are recognized as followers of John the Baptist. The Mandaeans, which once numbered about 30,000 and lived mostly in southern Iraq, have fled all over the world due to religious persecution.
A woman places a blanket around her friend after she came out of the river during a baptising ceremony for Mandaen followers at the Lek River near Houten May 20, 2013. May 20 is a holy day for the Mandaeans all over the world as followers cleanse themselves by being baptised in a river of choice. The Mandaeans, also known as the Sabeans, are a monotheistic and pacifistic religious community who are recognized as followers of John the Baptist. The Mandaeans, which once numbered about 30,000 and lived mostly in southern Iraq, have fled all over the world due to religious persecution.
A man uses an iPad to take a picture of his family during a baptising ceremony for Mandaen followers at the Lek River near Houten May 20, 2013. May 20 is a holy day for the Mandaeans all over the world as followers cleanse themselves by being baptised in a river of choice. The Mandaeans, also known as the Sabeans, are a monotheistic and pacifistic religious community who are recognized as followers of John the Baptist. The Mandaeans, which once numbered about 30,000 and lived mostly in southern Iraq, have fled all over the world due to religious persecution.
Women, dressed in religious robes, wait in a tent during a mass baptising ceremony for Mandaen followers at the Lek River near Houten May 20, 2013. May 20 is a holy day for the Mandaeans all over the world as followers cleanse themselves by being baptised in a river of choice. The Mandaeans, also known as the Sabeans, are a monotheistic and pacifistic religious community who are recognized as followers of John the Baptist. The Mandaeans, which once numbered about 30,000 and lived mostly in southern Iraq, have fled all over the world due to religious persecution.
