Bombs rock several cities of Iraq, casualties reported

At least three people were killed and six others injured when a bomb attached to a car exploded late on Sunday in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, according to officials.

Residents were on Monday assessing the damage caused by the bomb, which went off in Baghdad's eastern Zayona neighborhood.

Elsewhere in the capital, police said a bomb tore through a coffee shop early on Monday, killing eight and injuring 27, in the northern suburb of Shaab.

An eyewitness to the attack in Shaab called on the authorities to help protect life and property.

"I appeal to the authorities to exert great effort to protect people from such violent attacks. Are our souls and blood worth so little?" Ali Jassim said.

The attacks were part of a recent surge in violence that is raising fears Iraq is sliding back towards full-scale sectarian fighting.

Medical officials confirmed at least 46 people were killed in numerous attacks across the country on Sunday, striking targets as varied as a wedding party convoy and a carload of off-duty soldiers.

Violent attacks last month claimed the lives of more than 1,000 people, the highest monthly death toll in five years, according to the United Nations.

More than 420 people have been killed so far in August, according to an Associated Press count.

Similarly, Iraqi officials said militants have killed six farmers after abducting them from their houses north of Baghdad.
 
Two police officers say a group of gunmen disguised in military uniforms launched a pre-dawn raid Monday in an agricultural area in the Sunni town of Tarmiyah and took the six from their homes.

The bodies were found hours later in a nearby orchard with shots to their heads and chests.
 
Tarmiyah is located about 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of Baghdad. Insurgents are believed to use the belt of communities around the capital as bases to stage attacks into the city.
 
A medical official confirmed the deaths. All officials spoke anonymously as they were not authorized to release information.
 
Militants frequently disguise themselves in police or army uniforms to carry out attacks.


AP