31 killed in violent attacks across Iraq

At least 31 people, including a candidate for the upcoming parliamentary elections, were killed and 49 others wounded in separate violent attacks across Iraq Saturday, Xinhua reported citing police sources.

In Sharqat, 280 km north of Baghdad, unidentified gunmen attacked a car carrying Mohammed Hussein Hamid al-Gawamid, a parliamentary candidate on the list of Iraqiya al-Arabiya bloc led by Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq, a police source said, adding that Hamid al-Gawamid was killed and two police officers were wounded in the attack.

Hamid al-Gawamid is the second candidate killed before the April 30 parliamentary elections so far. Hamza Al Shamry, another candidate, was assassinated by gunmen with silenced weapons in western Baghdad Feb 7.

Two people were killed and nine others injured when a car bomb went off near a market in Baghdad's northern neighbourhood of Cairo, the police source said.

Earlier in the day, at least 28 people were killed and 38 others wounded in different attacks, mainly targeting security forces, across the country, according to the police.

The deadliest attacks occurred in the western province of Anbar, leaving a total of 18 security members dead and 25 others wounded, including three gunmen.

Iraq is witnessing its worst violence in recent years. According to the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq, at least 8,868 Iraqis, including 7,818 civilians and police personnel, were killed in 2013, the highest annual death toll in years.