A suicide bomber on Monday blew himself up during a Shiite funeral in an area north of Baghdad, the deadliest in a series of attacks that killed nearly 100 people nationwide.
The bomber detonated his explosives about 6:30 p.m. inside a tent where mourners were gathered in Khalis. Officials in Diyala and Baghdad said at least 32 people died and 63 were wounded in the blast.
Also Monday, a suicide car bomber apparently targeting an Interior Ministry convoy struck an Iraqi checkpoint near a busy square in the predominantly Sunni area of Harthiyah in western Baghdad, killing four people and wounding 10, police said. Those killed included two commandos and two civilians.
Elsewhere, a string of mortar rounds hit a Shiite district in northern Baghdad, killing at least nine people, including two boys, and wounding 10, police said.
Meanwhile, five American troops and an Iraqi interpreter died in separate attacks in Baghdad, including three in a single roadside bombing, the military said Monday, making April the deadliest month so far this year.
According to the AP, the roadside bomb killed three "Multi-National Division-Baghdad" soldiers and injured another while they were on a combat patrol Sunday in eastern Baghdad, the military said. An Iraqi interpreter also was killed in the attack.
Another "Multi-National Division-Baghdad" soldier on a combat patrol was killed by small arms fire in eastern Baghdad Saturday, the military said in a separate statement.
Both attacks took place in eastern Baghdad, a predominantly Shiite area where US and Iraqi forces have stepped up their activities as part of a security crackdown that started on Feb. 14.
The deaths raised to at least 103 US soldiers who have died in Iraq during the month of April, making it the deadliest month since December, when 112 Americans died.
