Fighting between Iraqi government troops and al-Qaeda-inspired militants killed 40 gunmen and an army officer today near Baghdad, authorities said, as attacks continued elsewhere in the country ahead of elections this month.
In a statement posted on the Interior Ministry's website, spokesman Saad Maan Ibrahim said that members of security forces foiled an assault by the militants on a military base in Youssifiyah, killing 40 "terrorist attackers."
Maan said that one army officer was killed. Youssifiyah is about 20 kilometres south of Baghdad.
Police officials said the attack started late yesterday and lasted for a few hours. They confirmed the military's account and said the attackers withdrew after the arrival of security enforcements to the area.
This afternoon, a car bomb exploded in a commercial street in Mahmoudiya town just south of Baghdad, killing three people and wounding 12, police said.
Another car bombing in the town of Haswa, 50 kilometres south of Baghdad, killed one person and wounded five, police said.
Medical officials in nearby hospitals confirmed the casualty figures from the car bombings. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to journalists.
Violence has escalated in Iraq over the past year. Last year, Iraq saw its highest death toll since the worst of the country's sectarian bloodletting began to subside in 2007, according to United Nations figures.
The country will hold its first parliamentary elections since the withdrawal of US troops on April 30.
