By Aref Mohammed BASRA, Iraq (Reuters) - A string of bomb blasts in predominantly Shi'ite Muslim provinces of Iraq killed at least 24 people on Sunday, police and medics said. The violence is part of a sustained campaign of militant attacks this year that has prompted fears of wider conflict in a country where ethnic Kurds and Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims have yet to find a stable power-sharing compromise. A suicide bomber killed at least four people in a Shi'ite mosque in the town of Mussayab, and in Kut city, a car bomb went off in a busy market, killing five, police and medics said. Three bombs exploded in quick succession near the headquarters of a Shi'ite political party in the southern oil hub of Basra, 420 km (260 miles) southeast of Baghdad, killing at least eight people, police said. ." View gallery Iraqi security forces and firefighters inspect the site of bombs attacks in Basra, 420 km (260 miles … "When the first explosion happened,

Egypt's military chief says the ousted president violated his mandate and entered into conflict with the armed forces. Egypt's military chief has defended removing Mohamed Morsi from office, saying the ousted president had violated his popular mandate and antagonised state institutions. Speaking to an auditorium filled with military officers on Sunday, General Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said Morsi "entered into a conflict with the judiciary, the media, the police and the public opinion. Then [he] also entered into a conflict with the armed forces." He did not elaborate on the nature of the conflict with the military, but said that the armed forces could no longer stand on the sidelines as millions of Egyptians took to the streets to call for Morsi to step down over allegations he was abusing his power. The military chief said he frequently advised Morsi and finally reached out to him before giving him a 48-hour ultimatum to reconcile with opponents and address public