Baghdad, September 27: At least one Iraqi police member has been killed and six others injured in the latest spate of terrorist assaults targeting security forces across conflict-stricken Iraq.
In the first incident, an Iraqi policeman was gunned down on Saturday when unidentified assailants opened fire on him at a popular outdoor market in Bab al-Toub district, central Mosul. The armed men fled the scene after the incident, according to eyewitnesses.
Security forces cordoned off the area after the attack and launched an investigation to look into motives behind the terrorist move.
The incident occurred on the same day when two policemen sustained wounds when an improvised explosive device (IED) went off near their patrol in northern Mosul city.
An Iraqi police source, seeking anonymity, told Voices of Iraq news agency that the bombing attack took place in the al-Ghabat neighborhood of northern Mosul. He added that the blast happened off a casino in the area when the foot patrol was passing nearby.
A volatile ethnic mix of Sunni Arabs, Kurds and Christians, Mosul remains the scene of frequent shootings and bombings, and US commanders regard the once cosmopolitan city as the last urban bastion of the al-Qaeda in Iraq. The capital city of Iraq’s Nineveh province, Mosul is situated some 396 km (250 miles) northwest of Baghdad.
In another incident, two Iraqi soldiers were critically injured on Saturday when an explosive device targeted their patrol in the Imam Weiss area, some 30 km (19 miles) south of Khanaqin in the northern Iraqi province of Diyala.
Two other Iraqi policemen meanwhile were injured on Friday evening when a roadside bomb struck a patrol in the al-Waziriya neighborhood of northern Baghdad, causing severe damage to their vehicle.
—–Agencies