BAGHDAD: An brazen robbery attempt in Baghdad and a series of attacks on security forces in the north killed six people and wounded dozens more Wednesday, raising tensions in the runup to parliamentary elections.
The attacks come as Iraq awaits a final decision on whether hundreds of candidates will be barred from contesting next month’s parliamentary election.
A gang targeted a jewelry store in eastern Baghdad by tossing a grenade into it, while the rest waited outside in a car.
Police nearby heard the commotion, however, and opened fire on the men before they could rob the store. The gun battle that followed killed a policeman, the storeowner and his assistant.
Six others were wounded and the suspects escaped, said police. The afternoon heist was a dramatic snapshot in a day of attacks around Iraq.
Earlier in the day, a roadside bomb struck a patrol in the disputed northern city of Kirkuk, killing a police lieutenant, a police official said. Two police also were wounded in the attack.
Meanwhile, authorities said at least 25 people were wounded when a suicide bomber detonated a vehicle near an Iraqi army and police post in Mosul. Ten civilians were among the wounded, a police official said. Hours later, in Mosul’s Wadi Hajar, a sticky bomb blew up the private car of an off-duty policeman, killing him.
