Multiple bomb blasts kill at least 12 in Iraq

PanARMENIAN.Net - In a second day of deadly attacks in disputed parts of Iraq, multiple bomb blasts killed at least 12 people Monday, Dec 17, CNN reported.

A car bomb and four roadside bombs went off in the small northern village of Khazna, situated in an area claimed by both the central government in Baghdad and the semi-autonomous regional government of Kurdistan.

The series of explosions killed at least seven people and wounded 11 others, health and police officials said. Khazna, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) northeast of the regional city of Mosul, is populated by the Shabak, a minority group.

Further south and east, two car bombs killed at least five people and wounded 25 others in the town of Tuz Khurmato, according to police officials in the nearby city of Kirkuk. Tuz Khurmato is also in an area disputed by Baghdad and Kurdistan.

One blast took place outside a local hospital, and the other outside a Shiite Mosque, officials said.

On Sunday, two roadside bombs exploded in quick succession near a recruitment center for federal police in the city of Jalawla, killing two people and wounding four others Sunday morning.

About 70 kilometers (43 miles) northeast of Baquba, Jalawla has population of both Arabs and Kurds and is also a matter of contention between the central government and Kurdistan.

The casualties there were among at least 10 people killed and 24 wounded in violence across the country on Sunday.

Violence has dropped dramatically in Iraq since the peak of Sunni-Shiite clashes in 2006 and 2007 and the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country in December 2011. But insurgent attacks against civilians and security forces persist.

Many areas are still smoldering with sectarian tension and political infighting.

According to figures compiled by Iraq's Interior, Defense and Health ministries, at least 166 Iraqi civilians, police officers and soldiers were killed in violence across the country in November. Most casualties were civilians.