Fresh Violence Claims Lives In Northern Iraq

Security officials say at least nine people have been killed in separate attacks that targeted police forces in northern Iraqi towns.

The deadliest attack on June 22 was in Mosul, where a suicide bomber set off a car rigged with explosives near a police patrol on the city's southern outskirts.

Police and hospital sources said at least four people, including a policeman were killed in the attack.

In the town of Tuz Khormato, gunmen on motorcycles attacked a vehicle carrying off-duty policemen, killing three officers.

Another group of gunmen targeted a police checkpoint in the town of Samarra, killing two policemen and injuring another officer.

Last month, more than 1,000 people were killed across Iraq in the worst violence the country has seen since the sectarian violence in 2006-07.

Based on reporting by AFP, AP, and dpa