11 killed in Iraq violence

At least 11 people were killed and 30 wounded in separate violent attacks Thursday, police said.

The deadliest attack occurred before noon when four gunmen and two suicide bombers broke into an office belonging to the transportation ministry in Baghdad, Xinhua quoted an interior ministry source as saying while requesting anonymity.

Iraqi security forces clashed with the assailants at the entrance and inside the building. The troops later retook control of the site after killing all the gunmen, who apparently did not take any hostages, the source added.

However, two security members were killed in the clashes and seven were wounded, the source added.

Meanwhile, state-run Iraqiya Television quoted Brigadier General Saad Maan, the interior ministry's spokesperson, as claiming that security forces managed to evacuate the government building and surrounding buildings without casualties.

In a separate incident, two civilians were killed and nine suffered injuries when a car bomb detonated in Baghdad's Maghrib thoroughfare, the source said.

According to the source, another car bomb went off near an army patrol at a marketplace in Shaab district in northeastern Baghdad, killing a soldier and wounding three troops along with six civilians.

Earlier in the day, five civilians were wounded in a roadside bomb explosion at an intersection in the capital city's Talbiyah district.

According to the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq, a total of 8,868 Iraqis, including 7,818 civilians and civilian police personnel, were killed in 2013, the highest annual toll in years.