Assault on office, other attacks kill 19 in Iraq

Insurgents assaulted a mayor's office in a Sunni town just north of Baghdad today, one of several attacks across Iraq that killed 19 people, said officials.
The attack in Tarmiyah, a former insurgent stronghold about 50 kilometers north of Baghdad, began with mortar fire and a suicide bomber who set off his explosive belt at the gate, police said. Gunmen then fired on the building.
A hospital official said 10 people were killed including six policemen, and another 18 were wounded. Security forces have started a search operation for the gunmen who fled to nearby orchards, police said.
In other violence, a car bomb exploded near a car dealership in Baghdad's western neighborhood of Baiyaa, killing five people and wounding 14 others. The blast set several cars on fire, said police.

Also, two people were killed and six others were wounded when a bomb exploded near an outdoor market in the capital's western suburb of Abu Ghraib, police said.
A car bomb went off near a police station in the city of Samarra, killing two policemen and wounding eight others. Samarra is 95 kilometers north of Baghdad.
Medics in nearby hospitals confirmed the casualty figures for all attacks All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media.
Violence has spiked in Iraq following a security deadly crackdown on a Sunni protest camp in April. According to UN estimates, more than 8,000 people have been killed since the start of the year.