[Al Arabiya Latest] Nine people, including four members of a government-backed Sunni militiaman's family, were killed in Iraq on Saturday in attacks that also left 38 wounded, officials said.A roadside bomb in Baquba, north of Baghdad and the capital of Diyala province, successfully targeted relatives of a Sahwa (Awakening) member, a police officer said, giving the toll. Two family members were wounded, he added.
The Sahwa, known as the Sons of Iraq by U.S. forces and comprised of former insurgents, began to ally with American troops in 2006 in an effort to combat al-Qaeda rebels. The force, which is now under the control of the Baghdad government, was credited with reducing violence, firstly in Anbar province, an al-Qaeda hotspot and then in other areas of the country.
In Baghdad, three people were killed when a parked car bomb exploded near an Iraqi army base and close to the health ministry, an interior ministry official said. An official at Medical City Hospital in the capital said 35 people were being treated for injuries.
In western Baghdad, a civilian was killed and another wounded when a homemade bomb exploded as they drove past in their car.