At least 15 killed in Iraq bomb blasts

At least 15 people were killed in several bombings in Iraq on Wednesday, medics and police said.                 

One of the attacks, a roadside bomb targeting a federal police convoy, killed at least four policemen in Baiji, 180 km (112 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
                              
Earlier, Iraqi officials said a car bomb in a Shiite suburb of Baghdad has killed four people and wounded 12 others.                                     

Two police officers say the parked car bomb went off early Wednesday morning in Hussainya and killed four civilians. They added that 12 others, including four policemen who were in a nearby checkpoint, were wounded.                             

The Shiite-dominated district is located some 25 kilometers (15 miles) east of the center of the capital.                                             

A medical official confirmed the casualty figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release information.                          

Violence in Iraq has spiked since April 23, when security forces tried to make arrests at a Sunni Muslim protest camp in the northern city of Hawija.        


REUTERS/AP