( Reuters ) - Two car bombs killed 14 people and wounded 30 in the northern Iraqi town of Baiji on Tuesday, police said, marking an increase in attacks as the holy Muslim month of Ramadan draws to an end.
Al Qaeda in Iraq had vowed to ramp up attacks during the fasting month, specifically to target government officials and tribal leaders who have decided to work with U.S. forces to fight the Sunni Islamist group.
Baiji's police chief, Colonel Saad Nifous, was wounded in an attack on his home that killed four of his bodyguards and wounded another seven, police said.
The second bomb in Baiji, 180 km ( 110 miles) north of the capital, targeted a mosque, killing 10 civilians and wounding 22 people. A police source in the town said a tribal leader who was working with U.S. troops to combat al Qaeda was the target.
Car and roadside bombs on Monday killed at least 21 people across Iraq.
