18 killed in Iraq terror attacks

Baghdad Oct 20 (IANS) At least 18 people were killed in separate terrorist attacks in Iraq Sunday.

Twelve people were killed and 27 wounded in suicide bomb attacks on a local government compound in Iraq's western province of Anbar Sunday, Xinhua reported citing provincial police.

The attacks occurred at noon when at least three suicide bombers attacked the city council, a nearby police station and a security checkpoint in the city of Rawa, about 100 km west of Baghdad, the source told Xinhua.

One of the suicide bombers blew up himself during a city council meeting, killing at least five officials and wounding 10 others, the source said.

The second hit the entrance of a nearby police station, killing at least five policemen and wounding 13 others, the source added.

The third suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest at a nearby joint police and army checkpoint, killing two policemen and wounding four others including two soldiers, the source said.

The attacks prompted the provincial operations command to block all entrances of the city and impose an indefinite curfew, he said.

Insurgent attacks continue in the volatile Sunni Arab area west of Baghdad, which stretches through Anbar province to Iraq's western border with Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

Earlier in the day, at least six people were killed and five wounded in a car bomb explosion near the house of a police chief.

The bomb exploded in the morning near the house of Nafie al-Azzawi, a police chief in Salahudin province, Xinhua reported citing local police.

Azzawi was unharmed as he was not at home but several policemen guarding his house were among the victims.

The blast destroyed some part of Azzawi's house and damaged several houses nearby.

Salahudin province is a Sunni-dominated area and also the hometown of former president Saddam Hussein.

Iraq is witnessing its worst eruption of violence in recent years. According to the UN Assistance Mission, almost 6,000 Iraqis were killed and over 14,000 others injured in the country from January to September this year.