Gunmen kill at least 68 in attack on Iraq Sunni mosque

Gunmen opened fire on worshippers during Friday prayers at a Sunni mosque in the town of Imam Wais, northeast of Baghdad, killing at least 68 people, Reuters reported.

Accounts of the attack, which also wounded dozens, varied sharply, with some sources blaming Shiite militiamen and others pointing to militants from the Islamic State (IS), a Sunni militant group.

A resident of the town said the attack was carried out by Shiite militiamen in revenge for a roadside bomb that struck one of their patrols, an account backed up by MP Nahida al-Daini.

But an army captain and a police officer said the attack was the work of four IS militants - a suicide bomber who detonated explosives inside the mosque and three gunmen who fired on fleeing worshippers.

IS militants spearheaded a sweeping insurgent offensive that was launched in June and has since overrun large areas of five provinces.

The initial onslaught swept security forces aside, and the government responded by turning to Shiite militiamen it fought in past years to bolster its flagging troops.