String of attacks targeting police kills 8 in Iraq as number of US troops falls below 50,000

8 dead in string of attacks in Iraq

BAGHDAD — Officials say a string of attacks on Iraqi security forces have left eight people dead.

Police and hospital officials say the deadliest attack occurred in northern Baghdad when a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden car in a parking lot behind a police station, killing six people, including three policemen and three civilians. Twenty-one people were wounded in the attack.

Officials say two more policemen also were killed Wednesday, one in a car bombing in the northern city of Kirkuk and another in a drive-by shooting in western Baghdad.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The attacks come as the U.S. ends combat operations in Iraq.