Iraq bombs kill eight in worst violence in weeks

Bombings against a policeman's home and three mosques killed eight people and wounded 13 today, security officials said, in the worst violence to hit Iraq in weeks.

A bomb targeting the home of a policeman in the Saqlawiya district outside the one-time insurgent stronghold of Fallujah, about 60 kilometres (37.5 miles) west of Baghdad, killed four people early today, police Captain Omar Abbud said.

The policeman, a member of the local anti-terrorism force, was not present at the time of the attack, but the bomb killed his 55-year-old mother and three other members of his family, Abbud said.

And three bombs exploded near mosques in Abu Ghraib, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) west of Baghdad, around midday, killing a total of four people and wounding 13 others, an interior ministry official said.

Two police and one soldier were among the dead, while three police and two soldiers were wounded in the blasts, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

It is the worst violence to hit Iraq since November 3, when bomb and gun attacks against police and anti-Qaeda militiamen killed 11 people and wounded 38 across the country.

Violence has declined nationwide since its peak in 2006 and 2007, but attacks remain common. A total of 258 people were killed in October, according to official figures.