Iraq: Bomb attached to car kills chief of government-backed Sunni militia west of Baghdad

Iraq: Bomb kills Sunni militia leader near Baghdad

BAGHDAD — The leader of a government-backed Sunni militia was killed in a bombing west of Baghdad Wednesday, one in a series of attacks targeting Iraqi security forces and their allies.

The bomb that killed local Awakening Council leader Mohammed al-Hamdani and wounded a bodyguard was attached to a car and exploded in Hamdaniya, a village in the Abu Ghraib district, police and hospital officials said.

The Sunni militia groups, known as Awakening Councils, are frequently targeted by insurgents. The groups joined U.S. and Iraqi troops to fight al-Qaida in Iraq.

Though violence has declined dramatically from just a few years ago, when Iraq teetered on the brink of civil war, attacks continue to strike the capital and other areas. The violence is a serious challenge for Iraq’s police and military as the U.S. prepares to withdraw all combat forces by the end of August.

Police said another so-called sticky bomb that was attached to a civilian car driven by a police officer exploded in eastern Baghdad, killing a beggar on the street and wounding four other people, including the driver.

A suicide bomber also rammed his explosive-laden car into a passing police patrol in the northern city of Mosul, wounding 13 people including three policemen, officials said.

Two other bombs in Baghdad and a village to the north wounded six people, including two Iraqi army soldiers, two young girls and two street sweepers, according to police and hospital officials.

A senior official at Iraq’s Ministry of Higher Education, meanwhile, escaped an assassination attempt. A roadside bomb targeted the convoy carrying Adnan Ibrahim, the general director of the ministry’s planning department. Ibrahim was unharmed, but three guards and two bystanders were wounded.

The officials reporting the violence spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to release the information.

Associated Press Writer Saad Abdul-Kadir contributed to this report.