Fresh bombings hit Iraq, killing eight

TIKRIT - Agence France-Presse

Mourners pray over the two bodies killed in a bomb attack before their burial in the holy Shiite city of Najaf. AP photo

Five bombings and clashes between soldiers and gunmen killed eight people in Iraq today, officials said, the latest in a spate of violence that has cost more than 370 lives so far this month.

In Tarmiyah, north of Baghdad, clashes between Iraqi soldiers and gunmen and a suicide bombing killed three soldiers and wounded at least seven, security and medical officials said.

Two car bombs exploded in a Turkmen Shiite area of Tuz Khurmatu, a north Iraq town in Salaheddin province, killing three people, wounding 44 and causing extensive damage to 10 houses, police and a doctor said.

And two roadside bombs detonated in a sheep market in the northern city of Kirkuk, killing two people and wounding 25, other officials said. The explosions also killed a number of sheep, seen lying at the site.
The bombings came a day after attacks killed more than 60 people across Iraq, which has been hit by a wave of violence in which 374 people have died so far this month, according to a tally of figures given by officials.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has announced plans to overhaul the country’s security strategy and personnel, and that the matter would be discussed at a Cabinet meeting earlier today.