Assault on mayor's office, other attacks kill 24 in Iraq

BAGHDAD – Insurgents assaulted a mayor's office in a Sunni town just north of Baghdad Tuesday, one of several attacks across Iraq that killed 24 people, officials said.

The attack in Tarmiyah, a former insurgent stronghold about 30 miles north of Baghdad, began with mortar fire and a suicide bomber who set off his explosives belt at the gate, police said. Gunmen then fired on the building,

A hospital official said 10 people were killed including six policemen, and another 18 were wounded. Security forces have started a search operation for the gunmen who fled to nearby orchards, police said.

In other violence, a car bomb exploded near a car dealership in Baghdad's western neighborhood of Baiyaa, killing five people and wounding 14 others. The blast set several cars on fire, said police.

Two suicide bombers set off explosive belts at a police administrative building in the city of Tikrit, killing two policemen and three civilians and wounding 25 other people, police and hospital officials said.

Tikrit is 80 miles north of Baghdad.

Also, a bomb exploded near an outdoor market in the capital's western suburb of Abu Ghraib, killing two and wounding six others, police said.

A car bomb went off near a police station in the city of Samarra, killing two policemen and wounding eight others. Samarra is 60 miles north of Baghdad.

Medics in nearby hospitals confirmed the casualty figures for all attacks. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Violence has spiked in Iraq following a security deadly crackdown on a Sunni protest camp in April. According to U.N. estimates, more than 8,000 people have been killed since the start of the year.