Bombing of bakery, other attacks in Iraq kill 9 people

BAGHDAD – A series of attacks in Iraq on Monday, including a bombing of a bakery in the capital, Baghdad, killed 9 people.

Violence has been on the rise in Iraq this year, but attacks against civilians and security forces have especially spiked during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which began early last month.

The surge in the bloodshed has raised fears of a return to the widespread killing that pushed the country to the brink of civil war after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

The deadliest of Monday’s attacks took place as people lined up in the afternoon to buy bread from a bakery in the mainly Shiite area of Kamaliyah in eastern Baghdad. Four people died and 14 were wounded in that attack.

Shortly before sunset, a car bomb exploded in a busy street in the town of Tal Afar, 420 kilometres (260 miles) northwest of Baghdad, killing three people and wounding 12 others, police said.

Earlier Monday, gunmen shot and killed the owner of a neighbourhood power generator along with his son in the town of Madian, 20 kilometres (14 miles) southeast of the Iraqi capital.

Medical officials confirmed the casualty figures for all the attacks. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

At least 621 people have been killed since the start of Ramadan, according to an Associated Press count, making it the bloodiest Ramadan in Iraq since 2007.