Politician gunned down in northern Iraq

Unidentified armed men have shot and killed the most high-profile member of a local council in the northern Iraqi province of Kirkuk, stoking fears of tension in the area.

The politician, Mohammed Khalil al-Juburi, and his wife were travelling in a car in central Kirkuk, situated 236 kilometers (147 miles) north of the capital, Baghdad, on Tuesday when gunmen sprayed his car with bullets, killing him on the spot and wounding his spouse.

Also on Tuesday, at least six people lost their lives and more than two dozen others sustained injuries in a spate of bomb attacks in and around Iraq’s violence-plagued capital.

A security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said two civilians were killed and nine others wounded when a bomb went off close to a popular market in the town of Abu Ghraib, located some 25 kilometers (15 miles) west of Baghdad.

Another person lost life and six others sustained injuries as an improvised explosive device attached beneath a car blew up in the al-Hurriya neighborhood of northern Baghdad.

Separately, a bomb exploded in the capital’s southwestern Amil neighborhood, killing one civilian and injuring five others.

A civilian was also killed and three others injured when a bomb blast targeted an army patrol in the city of Sabaa al-Bour, located approximately 28 kilometers (18 miles) northwest of Baghdad.

Additionally, a roadside bomb exploded in Baghdad’s southern district of al-Rashid, leaving one civilian dead and three others wounded.

The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq says a total of 888 Iraqis were killed and another 1,237 wounded in acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict in November alone.

According to the UN mission, the number of civilian fatalities stood at 489. Violence also claimed the lives of 399 members of the Iraqi security forces. A great portion of the fatalities was recorded in Baghdad, where 325 civilians were killed.

The northern and western parts of Iraq have been plagued by violence ever since Takfiri Daesh militants began an offensive in Iraqi territory in June 2014. Army soldiers and Popular Mobilization units have joined forces and are seeking to take back militant-held regions in joint operations.

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