23 people killed across Iraq including five soldiers and child

At least 23 people were killed in eight attacks across Iraq yesterday, including five soldiers who were shot dead by gunmen who then burned their bodies, and an eight-year-old boy, police and military sources said.

Increased attacks in Iraq in recent weeks have raised fears of a return to full-blown sectarian conflict. More than 1,000 Iraqis were killed in July, the highest monthly death toll since 2008, according to the United Nations.

Yesterday’s biggest attack occurred some 290 km north of the Iraqi capital, when suspected militants ambushed two taxis carrying soldiers in Qaiyara town, according to military sources.

“One of the cars escaped the ambush but the second one could not and the militants shot dead five soldiers and burned their bodies after they killed them,” a senior intelligence military officer said.

Police said seven people were also killed and 28 others were injured in two explosions in Madaen, a Shia district of southern Baghdad.

Another two explosions took place in commercial areas in western and eastern Baghdad, killing three people and wounding 10. Earlier yesterday, police said three people had died and 15 were wounded when a car bomb exploded in Balad, 80km north of Baghdad, while two people were shot dead near their homes in eastern Mosul, 390km from Baghdad.

Roadside bombs also killed two members of a displaced Shia family who had recently returned to their home and wounding nine others in central Baquba, 65km northeast of Baghdad, police said.

No group immediately has admitted responsibility for yesterday’s attacks. – (Reuters)