Eight killed in separate attacks in Iraq

BAGHDAD - A string of attacks in Iraq left eight people dead and six injured, security sources said Tuesday.

Gunmen attacked the home of a member of the Sahwa (Awakening) movement, killing five of his family in al-Taremeya, just north of Baghdad.

Security sources said the gunmen killed the Sahwa member’s wife, his daughter, and his two sons before fleeing.

Sahwa are Sunni fighters who supported the government in its fight against Al Qaeda and helped reduce violence in the country.

Earlier Tuesday, three policemen were killed and six people injured in a series of attacks targeting police patrols in the Iraqi western province of Anbar, police sources said.

“An explosive device went off near a police patrol in Heet city, west of Ramadi, leaving Rahim Omar, Heet police chief and two of his security killed,” local police source told DPA.

Ramadi, the capital city of Anbar province, is located some 110 km west of Baghdad.

Another blast in al-Tamim area, southern Ramadi, left four policemen injured, the source added.

In the central Falluja area of al-Mohamadiya, a blast targeting another police patrol left two civilians injured.

In Kirkuk, a high-ranking police officer survived an attack targeting his patrol as he was not in the vehicle when the explosive device went off, a source in Kirkuk police told DPA.

Two of his security staff were injured.