BAGHDAD: Militants kidnapped an Iraqi election candidate Sunday as attacks in Baghdad and northern Iraq killed nine people and officials prepared to announce the results of last month’s election.

The latest unrest is part of a year-long surge in bloodshed that has fueled fears Iraq is slipping back into the all-out sectarian conflict that left tens of thousands dead in 2006 and 2007.

In the northern Baghdad neighborhood of Jamila, gunmen opened fire on Rahman Abdulzahra Al-Jazairi early on Sunday morning while he was near his home, wounding his father and brother, police said.

The militants then snatched Jazairi, the general secretary of Hezbollah Warithun, an offshoot of the main Hezbollah party in Iraq.

Jazairi’s party is not expected to win any seats in parliament following the April 30 vote, the results of which are due to be released later Sunday or on Monday, election commission officials say.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the kidnapping, but Jazairi’s party said on Facebook that security camera footage had helped identify the militants behind the incident and said security forces were working to release him.

The abduction is the first incident of its kind since the election, the run-up to which was plagued by attacks on campaign rallies and candidates, but no reported kidnappings.

The election results have been delayed because of a litany of complaints, according to the election commission.