At least eight people were killed in Iraq Tuesday in clashes near the militant-held city of Fallujah and near Iraq's capital, according to Agence France Presse.
Militants allegedly attacked security forces near a checkpoint in Al Amriyah, a town south of Fallujah, which led to the fatal clashes between the government forces and the militants. It is not yet clear how many of the soldiers from both sides were killed, but a doctor at the scene did report that the clashes left at least three children and one woman dead as well. Another 15 were also reported wounded.
West of Baghdad, a roadside bomb exploded in Abu Ghraib near an army patrol which left at least one soldier dead and three others wounded, according to police and medical sources.
South of the capital, an explosion that killed three soldiers and wounded six was reported in Jurf Al Sakhr.
The Shiite-led government has blamed the neighboring Syrian war for the upsurge in violence in the country, but growing marginalization of the country's Sunni Arab minority under Shiite leadership has also contributed to the growing violence.
More than 3,000 have already been killed in Iraq this year according to AFP figures, marking the worst period of violence since the 2006-07 sectarian clashes that left thousands dead throughout the country.
