Over dozen killed, many wounded in Iraq violence

Over a dozen people have been killed and many more injured across Iraq as deadly bombings and shootings continue to rock the nation.

Officials said on Wednesday that a car bomb struck a police patrol in the northern city of Mosul, claiming the lives of at least four police officers and two civilians, AFP reported.

Also on Wednesday, a group of armed militants killed a policeman after attacking his house in Tikrit, north of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. A bomb explosion was set off in the area shortly after the policeman was killed.

After locals gathered in the area of the blast, another explosion targeted the crowd, killing at least nine people and injuring 35 others.

Near the city of Duluiyah, also north of Baghdad, a bomb blast killed three policemen and wounded a fourth officer.

A bomb also killed one person on a bus and injured two others in Musayyib, a town about 60 kilometers south of Baghdad.

Another three people were killed in separate attacks in Baquba.

Violence has risen sharply in Iraq in recent months. More than 600 people have been killed in this year’s holy month of Ramadan alone, making it the bloodiest in six years.

On Tuesday, nearly 50 people were killed and scores of others were injured in a series of car bombs targeting busy markets and shopping streets in and around Baghdad.

The United Nations said on August 1 that a total of 1,057 Iraqis were killed and another 2,326 were wounded in acts of terrorism and violence in the month of July, making it the country’s deadliest month since 2008.

More than 4,000 people have died in terrorist attacks in Iraq so far in 2013, with Baghdad province the worst hit.