Bombings kill 5 soldiers in Iraq

Two separate bombings have killed five soldiers around the Iraqi capital today, authorities say.
Police officials say a car bomb hit an army patrol in Baghdad's western suburbs, killing two soldiers and wounding five others.
Later on, police said a roadside bomb struck an army convoy, killing three soldiers and wounding six others in the town of Jurf al-Sakhar, about 50 kilometres south of Baghdad.
Medical official confirmed the causalities for both attacks. All spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to release information.
Violence has surged in Iraq recently. According to the United Nations, 8,868 people were killed in Iraq last year the country's highest death toll since the peak of sectarian bloodletting in 2007 and 2008.