19 people killed in attacks in Iraq; 6 vehicle bombs explode in Baghdad

[Spazito]

BAGHDAD (CP) - Gunmen shot and killed five police officers at a checkpoint north of Baghdad on Monday, and attackers exploded six vehicle bombs in the capital, killing at least five people and wounding more than 40.

At least 19 people were killed across Iraq on Monday, a day after bloodshed claimed 18 lives, part of an increase in violence seen in recent days after a relative lull in attacks around the Dec. 15 parliamentary elections.

A suicide car bomber slammed into a police patrol in the capital, leaving three dead, officials said, and a suicide motorcycle bomber rammed into a Shiite funeral ceremony, killing at least two and wounding 26, said Maj. Falah Mohamadawi of the Interior Ministry.

Four other car bombs killed at least two people and wounded 15, officials said.

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