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11 killed in new Iraq attacks ahead of Shiite rituals
Baghdad: A car bombing at a market in central Iraq killed eight people on Wednesday and three others were assassinated in Baghdad, the latest in a spike in nationwide unrest ahead of Shiite rituals.The violence struck a day after a series of attacks across Iraq killed 38 amid preparations for ceremonies on Friday to commemorate the birth of a key figure in Shiite Islam. In Wednesdays deadliest attack, a car bombing in the town of Zubaidiyah at 9:15 a.m. (0615 GMT) killed eight people and wounded 22 others, a security official and a medic at a hospital in nearby Aziziyah said. The medical official said a child was among the dead, and women and children were among the wounded. In Baghdad, a series of morning assassinations with silenced pistols left three people dead two police officers and a parliament official. In one shooting, a policewoman was killed by gunshots to the head in the east of the capital, an interior ministry official and a medic at Al-Kindi hospital said. In west Baghdad, an off-duty police first lieutenant, who was wearing civilian clothes, was killed, the interior ministry official and a doctor at Yarmuk hospital said. And an employee working at Iraqs parliament was gunned down in the north of the capital, the interior ministry official and a medic at Medical City hospital said. A spate of violence across Iraq on Tuesday killed 38 people, including 26 who died when a truck packed with explosives detonated in a market in the central city of Diwaniyah. The unrest comes just days before the culmination of Shiite commemorations to mark the birth of a central figure known as the 12th imam, with pilgrims who visit the shrine city of Karbala frequent targets of Sunni insurgents. Posted by: Steve White 2012-07-05 |
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