Iraq bombings kill 9, injure scores

Iraqi security personnel inspect the site of a car bomb blast in Hilla, 100 km south of Baghdad which left at least 18 people dead on October 1, 2011.

At least nine people have been killed and many others injured in a series of bomb blasts targeting Iraqi security personnel in and around the capital, Baghdad.

Five Iraqi civilians were killed on Friday after a bomb exploded at dawn outside a policeman's house in Saqlawiyah district outside Fallujah, about 60 kilometers west of Baghdad.

The policeman, a member of the local anti-terrorism force, was not present at the time of the attack. Those killed were all members of his family, including his 55-year-old mother.

Two other members of his family were also wounded in the blast.

Hours later, several bombs planted near three mosques exploded in Baghdad suburb of Abu Ghraib, killing at least four people, including two policemen and a soldier.

Iraqi police officials said 18 people were wounded and added that the bombs were targeting members of the security forces guarding worshippers heading to perform the Friday Prayers, AP reported.

The blasts forced the suspension of Friday prayers in nearby mosques.

Friday's violence is the worst to hit Iraq since November 3, when bomb and gun attacks against security personnel killed at least 11 people and wounded over 38 others across the country.

Source: Presstv