Nine killed in attacks in Iraq

At least nine people were killed and 29 others wounded in separate violent attacks across Iraq Friday, police said.

Four people were killed and 18 others wounded when a roadside bomb exploded at a market in Tuz Khurmatu, some 170 km north of Baghdad, Xinhua reported.

Unidentified gunmen Friday killed a local energy official in Saadia, 60 km northeast of Baquba, capital of Diyala province, and seriously injured a government employee.

In Baquba's southern neighbourhood of Amel, one civilian was killed and three others wounded when a roadside bomb went off near a house. Another roadside bomb injured four civilians in the Amin district of northern Baquba.

Also unidentified gunmen killed a senior police officer and his brother near the Rashad area, about 210 km of north Baghdad.

A policeman was killed and three others were wounded when a suicide car bomber attacked a police checkpoint near the Iraqi army's Anbar Operations Command in Ramadi, 100 km west of Baghdad.

Iraq is witnessing its worst violence in recent years. 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, the highest annual death toll in years.