Officials: Bombings targeting Iraqi army near Baghdad kill 5 soldiers

BAGHDAD – Two bombings targeting an army checkpoint and a convoy near the Iraqi capital killed five soldiers Sunday, officials said.

Violence has been on the rise across Iraq since a deadly crackdown by government forces on a Sunni protest camp in April, raising fears that the country could see a new round of widespread sectarian bloodshed similar to that which brought the country to the edge of civil war in 2006 and 2007.

The first attack took place when a roadside bomb blast hit a military convoy near Musayyib, a town 60 kilometers (40 miles) south of Baghdad, killing three soldiers and wounding 10, officials said.

Shortly before sunset, police said two soldiers were killed and nine were wounded when a suicide bomber drove his explosive-laden car into an army checkpoint in Baghdad's western suburbs of Abu Ghraib.

Two medical officials confirmed the casualty figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to talk to journalists.

Sunday's attack came a day after deadly bombings across Iraq that targeted cafes, markets and restaurants, leaving 69 dead. Insurgents frequently target the security forces, as well as Shiite civilians and others in an attempt to undermine the Shiite-led government.