Violence in Iraq kills 21

Published June 4th, 2014 - 06:25 GMT
Groups like ISIL frequently use car bombs to kill civilians. (AFP/File)
Groups like ISIL frequently use car bombs to kill civilians. (AFP/File)

At least 21 people have been killed and dozens injured in a series of attacks across Iraq, security and hospital officials say.

Kirkuk Provincial Health chief Sabah Mohammed said that eight people lost their lives and nine others sustained injuries after two vehicles rigged with explosives detonated in the northern Iraqi city on Wednesday.

Although no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, militants are often blamed for such attacks in the oil-rich province of Kirkuk.

Meanwhile, in the capital Bagdad, a car bomb killed four people in a shopping area, while separate attacks in different districts left two others dead.

On Baghdad's northern outskirts, a roadside bomb also killed two policemen.

Elsewhere in northern Iraq, a truck bomb went off and killed two people in the town of Suleiman Bek.

Also, a policeman was killed after approaching a corpse that had been booby-trapped with explosives in the nearby town of Tuz Khurmatu.

In the adjoining province of Salaheddin, two separate bombings killed a policeman and a soldier.

The violent attacks came a day after dozens of people were killed in separate attacks across the country, including clashes between soldiers of the Iraqi army and militants in the city of Fallujah where 18 died and 43 others were wounded.

Iraq is currently witnessing a wave of violence unprecedented in recent years.

Official figures show that more than 1,000 people, mostly civilians, were killed and nearly 1,400 others injured in violent attacks across Iraq in April.

Groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), are reportedly coming to Iraq from neighboring Syria and Saudi Arabia to undermine security in the country.

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