Eight killed in Iraq suicide attacks

BAGHDAD - Two attacks carried out by suicide bombers targeting Iraqi security forces left dozens dead and injured in different areas of the country, security sources said Monday.

Sources told the German Press Agency dpa that three civilians were killed and 20 injured when a suicide bomber drove an explosives-laden car into an Iraqi police patrol in the northern city of Mosul.

Mosul, one of Iraq’s most ethnically diverse cities, has suffered nearly daily attacks despite heavy security measures.

In a separate attack, a suicide bomber drove a small bus loaded with explosives into an Iraqi army convoy in the town of Abu Ghraib, just west of Baghdad.

Witnesses told the German Press Agency dpa that a man drove a small Kia brand bus into an Iraqi army patrol in the center of Abu Ghraib, resulting in a “massive explosion”.

Four soldiers and one civilian were reported dead, in addition to the suicide bomber. Thirteen soldiers and two civilians were left injured by the explosion.

Earlier Monday, security sources had told dpa that seven individuals with links to Al Qaeda had been arrested in the northern city of Kirkuk.

“Seven members of the so-called Islamic State of Iraq were arrested during a search and raid operation by joint Iraqi-US forces in al-Huweija district and villages nearby,” said Fatah al-Khafaji, head of the al-Huweija police station.