Iraq: At least 17 dead in attacks in Baghdad

A series of bombings, including several committed with car bombs, struck Thursday morning several neighborhoods in Baghdad, killing at least 17 dead and 57 wounded, the highest record since mid-April in the capital. Three other people were also killed by gunfire Thursday in northern Iraq.The deadliest attack in Baghdad was caused by a car bomb that exploded in the neighborhood of Shula, in the north of the capital, killing at least 13 dead and 32 wounded, according to two medical sources. The police blocked access to the site of the explosion, where many buildings had their windows blown out by the blast. Relief were busy spot, while a yellow cab seats stained with blood was washed away for purposes of the investigation. Abu Qarrar, taxi driver of 39 years, wearing a traditional tunic stained with blood: "I did not feel anything but suddenly I was thrown into the air and I hit a door. I saw the dead , injured with torn limbs. I carried a few people and ambulances arrived. Now, they clean the streets as if nothing had happened. " Qusay Rahi, 31, for his part said he saw people "crying, mortified." "I know two brothers who were killed in this explosion. I do not know what they were guilty, but God be with them." "I do not know who caused the explosion, but the government has the responsibility to protect the people," he added. At least four other bombings, including a car bomb, have also exploded in western Baghdad neighborhood of Yarmouk in, Ghazaliya, and Dora Amriya south, mostly between 08.00 and 09.00 local time (5:00 to 6:00 GMT ). The car bomb exploded near the home of an official of the Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in the Yarmouk neighborhood, killing a passer, and sparing the head. A magnetic bomb killed one civilian and wounded another in the suburbs of Baghdad, Thursday afternoon. These are the worst attacks occurred in Baghdad since April 19, when 17 people were killed and 106 others were injured in the capital and its surroundings. More violence also occurred in the rest of Iraq. Near Mosul (north), one policeman was killed in the city of Rabya, according to a statement from the Interior Ministry . "He was killed during clashes with a group of armed traffickers moving between Iraq and Syria ". And a major police and are driver were shot dead by gunmen in Mosul, according to security sources. Violence has fallen sharply in Iraq in recent years but remains almost daily: 126 people died in attacks during the month of April alone, according to official statistics.