New attacks in Iraq kill 5 Sunni militiamen.

New attacks in Iraq kill 5 Sunni militiamen.

Iraqi boys look inside of a destroyed vehicle the day after a car bomb
attack near an outdoor market in Baghdad's Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City, Iraq, Friday, May 16, 2014. Bombings and shootings

BAGHDAD | AP | 16 may 2014 : :  Separate attacks in Iraq killed five members of an anti-militant Sunni militia on Friday as an al-Qaida splinter group claimed responsibility for a spate of Baghdad bombings that killed at least 19 people the day before.

Insurgents frequently attack members of the Sunni militia, also known as Sahwa, which joined forces with U.S. troops at the height of the Iraq war to fight al-Qaida.

In one of Friday's attacks, gunmen opened fire from a speeding car, targeting a security checkpoint manned by anti-al-Qaida Sunni fighters near the town of Balad, 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Baghdad. Three Sunni fighters were killed and four were wounded in that attack, police officials said.

Hours later, a roadside bomb targeted a patrol of Sunni militiamen just north of Baghdad, killing two fighters and wounding four.

Medical officials confirmed the casualty figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to talk to media.

Also Friday, in a statement posted on a militant website, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant said it had carried out attacks in the Iraqi capital the day before in retaliation for the military operations against the city of Fallujah in western Anbar province. Fallujah has been in the hands of the Islamic State and other Sunni insurgents since last December.

Thursday's violence included bombings near several government offices and an outdoor market in Baghdad.

The statement's authenticity could not be independently verified but it appeared on websites commonly used by the group.

"We tell the spiteful Shiites and their government... that our lions are craving the taste of your flesh and blood," it said.

Iraq has seen a spike in violence since April 2013, with the death toll climbing to its highest levels since the worst of the country's sectarian bloodletting in 2006-2008. The United Nations says violence killed 8,868 people in 2013. ( Courtesy : Yahoo News ) 

Iraq bombing kills eight: officials.

Iraq bombing kills eight: officials.

Violence in Iraq has reached a level not seen since 2008,
 when the country was just emerging from a brutal
sectarian conflict. (Reuters)

09 Oct 2013 :: A roadside bomb exploded near a truck carrying workers in Iraq on Wednesday, killing eight people, a police officer and a hospital employee said.

The blast south of Baghdad also wounded seven, they said.

Violence in Iraq has reached a level not seen since 2008, when the country was just emerging from a brutal sectarian conflict.

This year's surge in violence has raised fears of a relapse into the kind of intense Sunni-Shiite bloodshed that peaked in 2006-2007 and killed tens of thousands of people.

Diplomats and analysts say the Shiite-led government's failure to address the grievances of the Sunni Arab minority - which complains of political exclusion and abuses by security forces - has driven the rise in unrest.

With the latest violence, more than 200 people have been killed so far this month, and over 4,900 since the beginning of the year, according to AFP figures based on security and medical sources.(Courtesy:The Indian Express)

Iraq suicide blasts 27 including children killed.

27 including children killed in Iraq suicide blasts.

An Iraqi soldier stands guard a road in Baghdad
 northern district of Kadhimiya as Shiite pilgrims
 walk toa shrine to commemorate the death of
 Imam Mohammed al-Jawad, the ninth
 Shiite imam.  Photo: AFP/GETTY

Reuters | 06 Oct 2013 :: Suicide car bombers attacked an elementary school and a police station in a small northern Iraqi village on Sunday while another on foot detonated his payload among Shiite pilgrims in Baghdad, killing at least 27 people including children, officials said.

The attacks are the latest in a relentless wave of killing that has made for Iraq's deadliest outburst of violence since 2008. The mounting death tolls are raising fears that the country is falling back into the spiral of violence that brought it to the edge of civil war in the years after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

Sunday's blasts began around 9:30 a.m. in the Shiite Turkomen village of Qabak, just outside the town of Tal Afar. The area around the stricken village has long been a hotbed for hard-to-rout Sunni insurgents and a corridor for extremist fighters arriving from nearby Syria.

One car bomb in the tiny village targeted an elementary school while children ages 6 to 12 were in class as another struck a nearby police station, Tal Afar mayor Abdul Aal al-Obeidi said.

The dead included 12 children, the school principal and two policemen. Another 90 people were wounded, he said.

The village is home to only about 200 residents, and part of the single-story school collapsed as a result of the blast, he said. Tal Afar is 420 kilometers (260 miles) northwest of Baghdad.

"We and Iraq are plagued by al-Qaida," al-Obeidi said. "It's a tragedy. These innocent children were here to study. What sins did these children commit?"

Another suicide bomber, this time on foot, blew himself up hours later as Shiite pilgrims walked through the largely Sunni neighborhood of Waziriyah in the north of the Iraqi capital.

At least 12 people were killed and 23 wounded in that attack, according to police and hospital officials. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to brief reporters.(Courtesy:The Indian Express)

Iraq clashes, attacks kill 25.

Iraq clashes, attacks kill 25.

Eight people, including seven policemen, were killed
 on Tuesday during attacks on two police stations
 and a local official's house northwest of
 Baghdad. — File photo

BAGHDAD | 24 Sep 2013 ::  Violence, including fighting between security forces and militants, killed 25 people in Iraq on Tuesday, as the UN warned that sectarian attacks threaten to force more Iraqis from their homes.

Violence in Iraq has reached a level this year not seen since 2008, when the country was emerging from a brutal sectarian conflict.

Militants attacked two police stations and a local official's house in the towns of Rawa and Aana near the highway to Syria in Anbar province, killing seven police and the official's brother, officers and doctors said.

Deputy Interior Minister Adnan al-Assadi told journalists a large group of militants had attacked Aana, seeking to take control of security positions.

Security forces killed six of the militants, Assadi said, adding that SWAT units were deployed to the area.

Separately, soldiers battled militants in the Hamreen area north of Baghdad, killing four, while two soldiers were killed and nine wounded, officers said.

A helicopter pilot was wounded by gunfire in the operation, during which two militants were arrested and weapons seized, army Staff Lieutenant General Abdulamir al-Zaidi told AFP.

Two officers said a helicopter had been shot down, but Zaidi insisted that it was able to return to base.

Militants, including those linked to Al-Qaeda, frequently target security forces and other government employees, and security forces have carried out major operations against them in recent months.(Courtesy:Dawn)

Iraq officials say bombings kill at least 14.

Iraq officials say bombings kill at least 14.

Officials say separate attacks in Iraq have killed at least 14
civilians and wounded dozens. (File photo: Reuters)

Baghdad | 11 Sep 2013 :: Officials say separate attacks in Iraq have killed at least 14 civilians and wounded dozens.

Police say the deadliest of Tuesday’s attacks took place near the eastern city of Baqouba, where three car bombs targeted outdoor markets, killing at least 10 civilians and wounding 34. Baqouba, a former al-Qaeda stronghold, is 60 kilometers northeast of Baghdad.

In the town of Latifiyah, about 30 kilometers south of Baghdad, a bomb hidden inside a coffee shop killed four and wounded 14.

Three medical officials confirmed the figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release information.

Violence in Iraq has intensified since April to levels not seen since 2008. More than 4,000 people have been killed over the past five months.(Courtesy:Al Arabiya)

Iraq market car bomb kills 16.

Iraq market car bomb kills 16.

SAMARRA  | 30 Aug 2013 :: A car bomb ripped through a popular fruit and vegetable market north of Baghdad on Thursday, killing at least 16 people as Iraqis searched for cut-price groceries.

The blast, which also wounded 25 people, struck in the predominantly Sunni Arab city of Samarra at about 6:45 pm (1545 GMT). It came a day after a wave of nationwide violence – including a spate of bombings in the Iraqi capital – killed at least 75 people. The attack was the latest in a surge of unrest, with more than 3,700 people killed so far this year.

It follows security operations targeting militants in Baghdad and to the north and west, though the government has faced charges of not dealing with the root causes of the country’s worst violence since 2008.

Thursday evening’s attack struck the Samarra market, locally known as the Mraydi, at a time when struggling Iraqis typically frequent it in order to take advantage of reduced prices as surplus stock is sold before closing.

In all, 16 people were killed, including three women and two children, and 25 people were wounded, a police officer and a doctor said.

The market, the city’s biggest grocery shopping area, lies in the Jiberia neighbourhood of eastern Samarra.

Attacks elsewhere in Iraq left three others dead — a soldier, a civilian and a militant who was shot dead as he was trying to plant a roadside bomb.

On Wednesday, at least 75 people were killed and more than 200 wounded in a wave of shootings and bombings across Iraq, with the violence mostly targeting the country’s Shiite Muslim majority.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the latest bloodshed.

Sunni militants linked to Al-Qaeda frequently trigger car bombs in the middle of crowded areas packed with civilians, ostensibly in a bid to undermine confidence in the Shiite-led authorities and security forces.

Iraq has seen a marked rise in the level of violence this year, coinciding with demonstrations by the Sunni Arab minority against alleged ill treatment at the hands of the Shiite-led government and security forces.

More than 600 people have already been killed so far this month, according to an AFP tally.

Though diplomats and analysts have urged broad-reaching moves to tackle Sunni frustrations, which they say give militant groups room to recruit and carry out attacks, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has vowed to press on with an anti-militant campaign.

Officials say security forces have dismantled militant training camps and bomb-making sites, arrested hundreds of alleged insurgents and killed dozens of others in recent weeks.(Courtesy:The Nation)

Iraq Bombing: At Least 24 People Killed.

Iraq Bombing: At Least 24 People Killed.

The latest attack near a Shi'ite mosque follows on from a wave of apparently coordinated bombings.

This car was wrecked in an explosion on Sunday

 UK |  18  June  2013 :: At least 24 people have been killed in a suicide bombing by a Shi'ite mosque in Baghdad.

And 52 others were injured in the blast - the latest in a coordinated string of attacks on the country.

The first bomber detonated his explosives at a security checkpoint near the mosque in the middle-class, Shi'ite-majority area of the northern Qahira neighbourhood in an apparent attempt to distract the authorities, two police officers said.

Amid the commotion, a second bomber slipped into the mosque and blew himself up while worshippers were attending midday prayers, according to police.

A medic in a nearby hospital confirmed the casualties.

There was no immediate claim of who was responsible for the killings, but suicide bombings and attacks against Shi'ite worshippers are frequently the work of al Qaeda's Iraq arm.

The bombing has revived fears that the country is heading back toward the widespread sectarian bloodshed that pushed it to the brink of civil war in 2006 and 2007.

Violence has surged in Iraq in recent months, along with sectarian and political tensions. Insurgents frequently attack Shi'ites considered by Sunni extremists as infidels and non-Muslims.

The bloodshed in Iraq has risen to levels not seen since 2008. Nearly 2,000 people have been killed since the start of April, including more than 220 this month.

On Sunday, a wave of apparently coordinated bombings and a shooting killed at least 51 people.

Fifteen people were killed in bomb attacks on Monday, including one caused by a suicide bomber who set off his explosives-laden belt among a group of policemen in Fallujah, west of Baghdad.(Courtesy:Sky News)