Bombs target Iraqi patrols, crime lab in northern Iraq, kill 4, authorities say

Police: Bombs in northern Iraq kill 4

BAGHDAD — A string of bombs targeted Iraqi army patrols and a police crime lab Tuesday in northern Iraq, killing at least four people, authorities said.

The bombings were the latest attacks against security forces in Mosul, an area where insurgents retain a foothold despite a sharp drop in violence across the rest of the country.

Iraqi forces frequently have been targeted by insurgents seeking to derail public confidence in the government. Security lapses that allowed for large and deadly attacks against a number of government buildings also have raised concerns about the Iraqis’ ability to take over their own security so American troops can withdraw by the end of 2011 as scheduled.

The first blast Tuesday occurred when a car bomb exploded outside a side entrance of the police crime lab in Mosul, 225 miles (360 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad, said Lt. Col. Salim Ibrahim, an area commander.

It killed two people and wounded seven, including five police officers, he said.

The explosion knocked over concrete blast walls and caused minor damage to the building, Ibrahim said.

Later, two roadside bombs struck separate Iraqi army patrols in eastern Mosul, killing two soldiers, an army official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to release the information. Five people, including three civilians, were wounded.

In recent weeks in and around Mosul, security checkpoints have been attacked in drive-by shootings and the motorcade of the provincial governor was attacked.

Gunmen also opened fire Tuesday on two Christian college students waiting at a bus stop in Mosul, killing one and wounding the other, a police official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.

Christians have been routinely been the targets of sectarian violence since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

The U.S. military has warned of a possible escalation in violence ahead of Iraq’s March 7 parliamentary elections.

Political tensions between the Shiite-led government and minority Sunnis have been on the rise after a vetting committee barred hundreds of candidates from running because of ties to Saddam Hussein outlawed Baath Party.

An explosion late Monday targeted the Baghdad political office of al-Ahrar, a party that includes followers of anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, police said.

Punched-out round holes in the office walls indicate that at least two rockets were fired at the building, observers said. Officials blamed a roadside bomb for the explosion, which killed one person and wounded three, including Majid Hussein Taha — a director of the Ministry of Agriculture and a candidate running on the party’s ticket.