Militants in the Iraqi city of Mosul killed four people Friday, including a Sunni Muslim cleric who was shot outside of his mosque, DPA reported.
Gunmen killed the imam as he was entering the mosque for Friday prayers. The armed militants then fled the scene. The attack was especially shocking, coming as it did during the ongoing holy month of Ramadan.
A soldier was also killed in Mosul, some 400 kilometres north of Baghdad. Another was injured when a separate group of militants opened fired on them in the east of the city.
A police patrol nearby was hit by a bomb blast which killed two officers and injured four, security officials said.
In Kirkuk, located 250 kilometres north of the capital, a militant from the Sahwa, or Awakening Councils, was shot dead while staffing a checkpoint, police said.
The gunmen drove past the checkpoint late Thursday, fired shots from a moving vehicle, and then fled the scene.
The Sahwa, made up of former Sunni insurgents, have been facing regular attacks for their role in supporting the government in its fight against al-Qaeda.
Four killed in Mosul, including Sunni cleric
