70 killed in Iraq attacks

At least 70 people were killed and 147 others wounded in violent attacks across Iraq Wednesday, most of them in the capital city of Baghdad and eastern province of Diyala, police said.

In Baghdad, at least eight car bombs and two roadside bombs ripped through busy areas during the day, killing a total of 39 people and wounding 109 others, Xinhua quoted a police source as saying.

At least 14 people were killed and 25 others wounded when three bombs exploded Wednesday morning at a funeral in the village of Shatib near Diyala's provincial capital of Baquba.

Unidentified gunmen kidnapped seven truck drivers Wednesday evening near the town of Muqdadiyah, 40 km northeast of Baquba, and then shot them dead, the police source said, adding that their trucks were also burned.

At least six army soldiers were killed in a bombing attack at a bridge near the northern city of Mosul Wednesday, police said.

The blast also injured 10 Iraqi soldiers when their patrol were crossing the bridge in the area of Ain al-Jahsh.

Elsewhere, a car bomb went off at the entrance of the city of Dujail, some 60 km north of Baghdad, killing four people and wounding three others, a police source said.

The attacks came as Iraq is witnessing its worst violence in recent years, which raised fears that the increasing violence could bring the country to uncontrollable sectarian violence.

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