49 killed, 148 injured in Iraq attacks

49 killed, 148 injured in Iraq attacksBaghdad, Sep 18 - As many as 49 people were killed and 148 wounded in various attacks across Iraq Tuesday, including a wave of bombing in the capital city, police and interior ministry sources said.

Eight people were killed and 20 others wounded when a car bomb exploded in Baghdad's Husseiniya area in the evening, while six people were killed and 18 wounded when two car bombs exploded in the Sadr City, reported Xinhua citing a police source.

Another car bomb in the city's Zaffaranya area killed six people and wounded 11 others, police source said, adding four people were killed and 16 wounded, when a car bomb went off at Naser Square in central Baghdad.

Also three people were killed and 18 wounded when two car bombs struck the Bataweein area in central Baghdad, while two people were killed and 14 wounded when a car bomb exploded in the city's Amel district, the source said.

A car bomb in the Saedea area in southwestern Baghdad killed one person and wounded 13 others, he added.

In Fallujah city, some 50 km from Baghdad, three policemen and four gunmen were killed and 12 policemen injured when unidentified gunmen attacked a police station, a police source said.

Earlier in the day, six people were killed and 13 wounded in separate bombings and shootings in central Iraq, police and interior ministry sources said.

A civilian was killed and seven were wounded when a roadside bomb ripped through Tarmiya area, some 40 km from Baghdad, a local police source said.

Meanwhile, two policemen were killed and two wounded in a mortar barrage on a police station in Mashahdah area, some 30 km north of Baghdad, the source said.

In Baghdad, Ali Ahmed Kamel, a senior official in the governorate, was shot dead when gunmen using silenced weapons opened fire on his car in Baghdad's Shaab district, an interior ministry source said.

A policeman was killed and a civilian wounded in a shootout between some gunmen and a police force in Fallujah city.

In Diyala province, an army force exchanged fire with a gunman and shot him dead in the Maqdadiyah city, some 100 km from Baghdad, a provincial police source said.

Also in the province, three soldiers were wounded in a roadside bomb explosion near their patrol in al-Udhaim area, some 60 km from the provincial capital city of Baquba, the source said. (IANS)