Eight killed in Iraq violence

Baghdad, Feb 7 (IANS) At least eight people were killed and 32 others wounded in violent attacks across Iraq Friday, police said.

Five people were killed and 22 others wounded in a car bomb attack in Tuz Khurmatu, some 170 km north of Baghdad, a police source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity, adding that about 15 houses and seven cars were also damaged in the blast.

Another car bomb struck at an area of Sadr City in eastern Baghdad, killing a policeman and a civilian, and injuring seven others, the police source said.

Hamza Al Shamry, a candidate for April's parliamentary elections, was assassinated by gunmen with silencer-fitted weapons in the neighbourhood of Ghazaliya in western Baghdad, the source said.

A commander of the Iraqi army's fourth division escaped an assassination attempt when a car bomb targeted his convoy in Baiji, some 200 km north of Baghdad. Three of his bodyguards were injured in the attack.

Iraq is witnessing its worst violence in recent years. According to the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq, a total of 8,868 Iraqis, including 7,818 civilians and civilian police personnel, were killed in 2013, the highest annual death toll in recent years.