46 killed, 71 wounded in violent attacks in Iraq

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46 killed, 71 wounded in violent attacks in Iraq

(Xinhua) 08:27, November 28, 2013

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BAGHDAD, Nov. 27 -- A series of violent attacks across Iraq on Wednesday killed 46 and wounded some 71 others, raising fears that terrorist groups and militia could bring the country to uncontrollable sectarian violence.

At least ten people were killed and 30 others wounded in a suicide bomb attack at a funeral in west of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad on Wednesday, a local police source told Xinhua.

The attack occurred in the sunset when a suicide bomber blew up himself at a funeral tent in Abu Ghraib area, some 25 km west of Baghdad, the source said on condition of anonymity.

The toll could rise as ambulances, police and civilian vehicles were evacuating the wounded people to the nearby hospitals and medical centers, the source said.

In western Iraq, the violence began in the morning when a car bomb went off outside Jowaiba police station in Habaniyah area in the east of Ramadi, some 110 km west of Baghdad, the source told Xinhua.

Immediately after the blast, two suicide bombers, who tried to enter the police station, blew up their explosive vests at the entrance, killing at least four policemen and wounding 12 others, the source said.

Meanwhile, another suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance of another police station in northwestern Ramadi, and in the meantime, unidentified gunmen carried out an attack by small arms and mortar rounds on the station, killing at least three policemen and wounding eight others, the source added.

In addition, a roadside bomb struck an army patrol in the city of Qaim on the Iraqi-Syrian border, wounding two soldiers, a local police source anonymously told Xinhua.

Insurgent attacks are frequent in recent months in the volatile Sunni Arab areas that are located west of Baghdad and stretch through Anbar province to the western border with Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

In Baghdad, the police found eight bodies in Arab Jubour area in the southern part of the capital and five others in Shula district in the northwestern part, a police source told Xinhua.

"The bodies were handcuffed and have bullet holes in their heads and chests," the source said.

Separately, gunmen broke into the house of a family in Baghdad' s northern district of Hurriyah and shot dead five family members, the source added.

In another incident, two people were killed and three wounded in a roadside bomb explosion at a crowded vegetable market in Doura district in the southern part of the capital, the source said.

Meanwhile, a roadside bomb ripped through the industrial area in Talbiyah district of northeastern Baghdad, killing a civilian and wounding four others, the source added.

In Iraq's eastern province of Diyala, a member of the Kurdish Peshmerga security guards was killed and nine others were wounded, when a suicide bomber drove his explosive-laden car into their checkpoint in the town of Jbara, some 100 km north of the provincial capital city of Baquba, which is about 65 km northeast of Baghdad, the town's mayor Aref Adel told Xinhua by telephone.

Jbara town is part of the disputed areas between the Kurds and the central government. The Kurds want to incorporate these areas on the edge of their "Kurdistan" region into their domain, but their attempt is fiercely opposed by Baghdad.

In a separate incident, gunmen broke into the house of a member of the government-backed Sahwa paramilitary group in the early hours of the day, killing him and his wife, a provincial police source told Xinhua.

Meanwhile, gunmen shot dead a civilian near his house in the town of Bani Saad, some 20 km southwest of Baquba, the source said.

In addition, a roadside bomb went off near an army patrol in Hashmiyat area, near Baquba, damaging a military vehicle and wounding three soldiers aboard, the source added.

In northern Iraq, gunmen shot dead a taxi driver and two teachers in his car in the town of Hadhar, some 80 km south of Nineveh's provincial capital city of Mosul, which is about 400 km north of Baghdad, a provincial police source told Xinhua.

Another taxi driver was separately killed in Hadhar when a sticky bomb planted in his car exploded during the day, the source said.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the deadly attacks, but the al-Qaida front in Iraq, in most cases, were responsible for suicide bombings in the country.

Wednesday's attacks came amid escalation of sectarian tension between the Sunni and Shiite communities, which has been at its highest level since the U.S. troops pulled out from the country at the end of 2011.

Iraq is witnessing its worst eruption of violence in recent years. According to the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq, almost 7, 000 Iraqis were killed and over 16,000 others injured from January to October this year.