Multiple blasts kill over a dozen across Iraq

Several bomb blasts kill over a dozen soldiers and civilians in eastern and northern parts of Iraq, security officials say.

A local police official said the incident took place on Saturday after two bombs targeted a four-vehicle patrol in the town of al-Saadiyah, 140 km northeast of the capital, Baghdad.

The official added that four military officers and five soldiers were killed in the blasts, while four soldiers were injured.

In a separate incident in the city of Tikrit, at least five civilians were killed and 18 others wounded following three car bomb explosions.

Local officials said the blasts took place near the homes of local security and civilian officials.

Iraq has witnessed a surge in deadly attacks including bombings and shootings in recent months.

Official figures say some 1,013 people were killed in January alone, making it the deadliest month in Iraq since April 2008.

On February 20, five mortar rounds struck a busy market, a residential building and a parking lot in the town of Musayyib, south of Baghdad, killing at least 22 people and wounding more than 50 others.

On February 18, several explosive-laden cars detonated across Baghdad, targeting the city’s Shia districts. Some 50 people were killed in the attacks while dozens of others were wounded.

The latest incidents of violence came at a time when Iraqi troops, backed by local Sunni tribesmen, are fighting al-Qaeda-affiliated militants in the country’s western regions, including Anbar Province.