At least 18 people were killed and 16 wounded Saturday in unabated incidents of violent attacks in different parts of Iraq, mainly in Anbar province, police said.
Six militants, suspected to be linked to the Al Qaeda organisation, were killed in clashes with army in Al-Sijar area, north of the Fallujah city, some 50 km from Baghdad, Xinhua quoted a provincial security source as saying.
Four policemen were killed when suspected Al Qaeda militants attacked two checkpoints in Anbar's provincial capital city of Ramadi, some 110 km from Baghdad, the source said.
In a nearby Khaldiyah town, two soldiers were killed and three wounded when unidentified gunmen attacked their checkpoint in the town, the source added.
Meanwhile, a car bomb ripped through the city of Heet, some 160 km from Baghdad, leaving two people dead and three wounded, he said.
Elsewhere, unidentified gunmen attacked a checkpoint of a government-backed Sahwa paramilitary group, in an area, some 30 km from Baghdad, killing two group members and wounding three, a local police source said.
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In addition, two Sahwa members were killed and seven wounded when gunmen attacked their checkpoint at a village near Tuz-Khurmato city, some 90 km from Tikrit, a police source said.
According to the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq, a total of 8,868 Iraqis, including 7,818 civilians and civilian police personnel, were killed in 2013, the highest annual death toll in years.