Bombings kill at least 8 outside Baghdad

In this Saturday, May 9, 2015 photo, smoke rises after an airstrike by the U.S.-led coalition on Islamic State group positions in an eastern neighborhood of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, 70 miles (115 kilometers) west of Baghdad, Iraq. Iraqi authorities on Friday signed up the first batch of 1,000 recruits for a new Sunni militia to help its security forces take back the western Anbar province from the Islamic State group, after years of reluctance to arm and train the tribal fighters. (AP Photo) (The Associated Press)

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In this Saturday, May 9, 2015 photo, Iraqi security forces patrol as US army air force aircrafts attack Islamic State group positions in an eastern neighborhood of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, 70 miles (115 kilometers) west of Baghdad, Iraq. Iraqi authorities on Friday signed up the first batch of 1,000 recruits for a new Sunni militia to help its security forces take back the western Anbar province from the Islamic State group, after years of reluctance to arm and train the tribal fighters. (AP Photo) (The Associated Press)

In this Saturday, May 9, 2015 photo, Iraqi security forces stand guard as destroyed vehicles are seen by a mosque after overnight clashes with Islamic State group extremists in Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, 70 miles (115 kilometers) west of Baghdad, Iraq. Iraqi authorities on Friday signed up the first batch of 1,000 recruits for a new Sunni militia to help its security forces take back the western Anbar province from the Islamic State group, after years of reluctance to arm and train the tribal fighters. (AP Photo) (The Associated Press)

BAGHDAD – Officials in Iraq say separate bombings outside the capital, Baghdad, have killed at least eight people.

A police officer said a suicide car bomber attacked a police and army checkpoint Sunday in the town of Tarmiyah, killing five security members and wounding 10. The town is about 31 miles north of Baghdad.

Police say another car bomb killed three civilians and wounded eight at an outdoor market in Taji, about 12 miles north of Baghdad.

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

The attacks come amid heightened security in Baghdad to protect thousands of Shiite pilgrims marching to a shrine of a revered Imam to commemorate his 8th-century death.