17 killed in Iraq violence

BAGHDAD - At least 17 people, including 11 civilians, were killed and 16 injured in separate attacks across Iraq Sunday, police sources said.

In Mosul, a gunman threw a bomb at a checkpoint in a central district of the northern city killing two civilians and two policemen. Five police officers were also injured.

In the eastern part of Mosul, gunmen opened fire on two checkpoints, leaving three soldiers dead. Nearby, unidentified gunmen stormed a policeman’s house, killing him and injuring his wife.

The body of a woman was also discovered in the city’s west, with signs of torture. Police said she had been killed early Sunday.

In the centre of Baghdad, several coordinated blasts took place near Baghdad University , killing one civilian and injuring three others, the Aswat al Iraq news agency reported.

A bomb attached to a car exploded in another part of the capital, killing three civilians and injuring four.

Three police officers were also injured in an explosion near their vehicle while they were on patrol.

At least one person was killed and three injured early Sunday after being hit by a rocket grenade on a main street in eastern Baghdad, according to police sources.

In Hilla, some 100 km from the capital, gunmen stormed a Sunni mosque during the Ramadan dawn prayers, and shot at worshippers randomly before running away. Three people died in the attack and one was injured.

Police in Hilla, a town with a majority Shia population and a sizable Sunni minority, alleged the militants belonged to a branch of Al Qaeda.

The US military remains on track for ending major combat operations in Iraq by the end of this month and reducing its presence there to about 50,000 soldiers, the White House has confirmed. All US forces are scheduled to be out of Iraq by the end of 2011.