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Deadly blasts, assassination strike Iraq before election

Arab World Materials 18 April 2013 05:37 (UTC +04:00)
Four blasts in and around Baghdad killed at least three people and wounded 16 on Wednesday, police said
Deadly blasts, assassination strike Iraq before election

Four blasts in and around Baghdad killed at least three people and wounded 16 on Wednesday, police said, CNN reported.

Violence has persisted in recent days in the lead-up to Iraq's provincial elections scheduled for Saturday.

The latest attacks included a car bombing of an Iraqi army convoy, a car bombing near a police station, a roadside bomb that struck a politician's convoy and another roadside bomb, police say.

The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad released a statement on Tuesday condemning the ongoing violence, some of which has targeted people running for office.

"These attacks have killed more than a dozen candidates and injured many others." the statement said. "Such terrorist acts are a cowardly and unacceptable attempt to undermine Iraq's democracy and a desperate effort to intimidate Iraqis and deter them from participating in the democratic process."

About 45 miles (75 kilometers) west in Falluja, the chief prosecutor of the city's civil court was assassinated on Wednesday night, Ramadi police officials told CNN.

Maarouf Ahmed al-Kobaisi was in his car when gunmen driving by opened fire, killing him.

A car bomb exploded about an hour later at a police patrol in central Falluja, according to Ramadi police. It was not immediately known if anyone was hurt or killed in this blast.

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