Death toll from Iraq bombings rises to over 200

MOSUL, Iraq (AFP) - The death toll from brutal truck bombings targeting the ancient Yazidi religious sect in northern Iraq rose to more than 200 on Wednesday, a local government official told AFP.

Mayor of Sinjar, a town in the northern province of Nineveh where four truck bombs exploded on Tuesday, voiced fears that the toll could rise further.

"More than 200 people were killed and an equal number of people are wounded," Dakhil Qassim Hassun said.

"The casualties are expected to rise as many victims are still trapped under the debris."

Four truck bombs exploded in the villages of Al-Khataniyah and Al-Adnaniyah which are mainly inhabited by Yazidis, local officials said.

Yazidis -- who number some 500,000 -- speak a dialect of Kurdish but follow a pre-Islamic religion and have their own cultural traditions.

They believe in God the creator and respect the Biblical and Koranic prophets, especially Abraham, but their main focus of worship is Malak Taus, the chief of the archangels, often represented by a peacock.
Followers of other religions know this angel as Lucifer or Satan, leading to popular prejudice that the secretive Yazidis are devil-worshippers.