Iraq Attacks Kill 10 As Elections Due in Weeks

Attacks killed 10 people in Iraq on Sunday while six militants also died as the country grapples with its worst bloodshed in years just weeks before parliamentary elections.

Among those killed were six who died in a mass assassination south of Baghdad, in scenes reminiscent of the worst of Iraq’s 2006-07 sectarian conflict in which tens of thousands were killed.

The surge in violence has left more than 2,400 people dead so far this year.

The deadliest of the bloodshed on Sunday struck in Latifiyah, south of Baghdad within the confessionally mixed Triangle of Death, where six were killed by militants, security and medical officials said, but accounts differed as to how they died.

Two officials reported a family of six were stabbed to death, while others said six men were taken from various houses in the town and shot dead.

Attacks also struck in the restive northern provinces of Kirkuk, Nineveh and Salaheddin, leaving four people dead, while six militants were also killed.

Near-daily bloodshed is part of a long list of voter concerns that also include lengthy power cuts, poor wastewater treatment, rampant corruption and high unemployment.