Car bomb kills 7, injures 23 in Baghdad

At least seven people have been killed and 23 others injured in a car bomb explosion in the Iraqi capital, police and medical sources say.

The incident took place in a mobile phone market in the al-Husseiniyah neighborhood in eastern Baghdad on Wednesday, AFP reported.

The attack brought to 125 the total number of people killed in the violence in the country since Tuesday. At least 268 others have also been wounded.

Five soldiers and seven gunmen were killed and 63 people, including 20 soldiers, were injured in clashes in the town of Sulaiman Bek north of Baghdad earlier on Wednesday, security officers and an official said.

In another incident, gunmen attacked a checkpoint run by the pro-government and anti-al-Qaeda Sahwa (Awakening) militia in Khales northeast of Baghdad.

Gunmen injured a policeman in the northern city of Mosul, and another soldier was wounded in a shooting south of the city.

Other violence, including a car bombing in the capital and attacks in three other areas, claimed the lives of at least 11 people and wounded 33 others.

Violence has increased in Iraq since December 2011, when an arrest warrant was issued for fugitive Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, who has been charged with running a death squad targeting Iraqi officials and Shia Muslims.

The government has stepped up efforts to boost security across the country over the past few months