Baghdad: A roadside bomb targeting an Iraqi army patrol in Baghdad killed two civilians on Sunday, as attacks claimed the lives of at least five people despite a marked decrease in violence across the country in recent months.
The roadside bomb in southeastern Baghdad's predominantly Shiite neighbourhood of Zaafaraniyah also wounded four people, a Baghdad police officer said.
Earlier, a local government official in the town of Kut, south of the capital, escaped an apparent assassination attempt when a bomb exploded outside his house.
Abdul Ridha Al Badri, director of the Human Rights Ministry's provincial branch in Kut, his wife and four sons were injured by shattered glass and falling pieces of the house's facade, a police officer said.
Both police officers spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to release information to the media.
Army officer dead
To the north, gunmen shot and killed an Iraqi Army officer west of Mosul, 360 kilometers northwest of Baghdad.
Lieutenant Colonel Nayef Mohammad Al Shammari was shot as he drove his car. He was not in uniform at the time, a police officer said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the record.
Also in Mosul yesterday, a parked car bomb targeting a passing police patrol killed a civilian and wounded five policemen, police said. In Tikrit, 130 kilometers north of Baghdad, one policeman was injured when a roadside bomb exploded as police were attempting to defuse it, police said.
Despite the attacks, Iraq has seen a clear improvement in security in recent months, with the US military saying violence is down by about 60 per cent.
