A suicide bomber killed at least 45 people and wounded another 55 today in an attack at a funeral in northern Iraq.

The funeral was organized for two recently killed members of a U.S.-backed security unit. Responsible for the horrible incident is thought to be the Sunni Islamist al Qaeda.

According to Reuters, one of the wounded mourners, Ali Khalaf said: "Suddenly a fireball filled the funeral tent. I fell to the ground. I saw bodies scattered everywhere." After the statement he was taken to a nearby hospital with the rest of the survivors for a more appropriate medical assistance.

The U.S.-backed neighborhood security units, named “Concerned Local Citizens” by the U.S. military, have been credited for their aid to bring down violence in Iraq. This has made them one of the main targets for the attacks by the militants.   

Just this week, up until the funeral, the number of people killed in northern Iraq attacks was at about 50 victims. Today’s incident is one of the deadliest that Iraq has had in the past few months and shows that things are about to get much worse before they get any better.

Even though efforts seem to slowly put the country on the right track and al Qaeda is significantly weakened, today’s event has shown that the terrorist movement still has the ability and means to organize tragic and devastating attacks.

The reason why al Qaeda militants choose to attack funerals is because the events usually have very little security. They are also known for striking with car bombs near large civilian crowds and government targets.