37 killed in Iraq violence

Diyala and its capital Baquba remain one of the most dangerous areas in Iraq with frequent suicide attacks, including several by female assailants, as well as car bombings.

Suicide bombers also struck in Iraq’s main northern city of Mosul, another Al-Qaeda stronghold. Police Major Shahab Ahmed said five people were killed and six wounded when a suicide bomber blew up his vehicle near a police patrol in the Al-Noor neighbourhood in the east of the city.

Four people were killed and five wounded when a second bomber blew himself up close to a police patrol in the Ras al-Jad’a district of the city centre, he added.

Doctor Ahmed Jassim from Mosul hospital confirmed that nine bodies had been brought in from the two attacks.

A car bomb also exploded in Mosul wounding six people, Ahmed said.

In the capital, Electricity Minister Karim Wahid escaped unharmed when a roadside bomb exploded in east Baghdad, wounding three of his bodyguards, security officials said.

Tuesday’s bloodshed came as US commanders hailed a fall in overall violence in Iraq to a four-year low.