Iraq attacks kill 10 with elections due in weeks

Police and soldiers patrol in Ramadi, west of Baghdad Attacks killed 10 civilians in Iraq on Sunday while six militants also died as the country grapples with its worst bloodshed in years just weeks before parliamentary elections. Among those killed were six who died in a mass assassination south of Baghdad, in scenes reminiscent of the worst of Iraq's 2006-07 sectarian conflict in which tens of thousands were killed.
The surge in violence has left more than 2,400 people dead so far this year.
It is principally driven by anger in the Sunni Arab minority over alleged mistreatment at the hands of the Shiite-led authorities, as well as spillover from the war in neighbouring Syria.
The deadliest of the bloodshed on Sunday struck in Latifiyah, south of Baghdad within the confessionally mixed Triangle of Death, so called because of the brutal violence which plagued the area during the peak of Iraq's confessional war.
Six Sunni Arabs were killed by militants, security and medical officials said, but accounts differed as to how they died.
Two officials reported a family of six were stabbed to death, while others said six Sunni men were taken from various houses in the town and shot dead.
Attacks also struck in the restive northern provinces of Kirkuk, Nineveh and Salaheddin, leaving four people dead, while six militants were also killed.
Diplomats and analysts have urged the authorities to reach out to the Sunni community to undermine support for militancy.
But with parliamentary elections looming at the end of this month, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and other Shiite leaders have been loath to be seen to compromise.
Near-daily bloodshed is part of a long list of voter concerns that also include lengthy power cuts, poor wastewater treatment, rampant corruption and high unemployment.
Source: AFP