Insurgent Attacks Kill 17 Across Iraq

Insurgent Attacks Kill 17 Across Iraq

Iraqi officials say insurgent attacks around the country have killed at least 17 people, including nine in a car bomb blast in Baghdad.

The car bomb exploded in central Baghdad's Karrada district Sunday as a convoy carrying an Iraqi finance ministry official passed by. At least 20 people were wounded, while the official escaped unhurt.

Elsewhere, a roadside bomb went off near a playground where children had gathered in the town of Baquba. Three people were killed, including two children.

A car bomb killed two people in the northern city of Mosul, while a roadside bomb killed a policeman in the central town of Tikrit.

The U.S. military said today the overall insurgent attacks in Iraq have fallen 55 percent since the U.S. fully deployed troop reinforcements to the country in June.

U.S. military spokesman, Rear Admiral Gregory Smith also says Iraqi civilian casualties are down 60 percent across Iraq and 75 percent in Baghdad over the same period.

U.S. Embassy official in Baghdad, Philip Reeker says it is unclear what role Iran may have had in the reduction of violence in Iraq.

The U.S. military says Tehran continues to be what it calls the "principal supplier" of weapons, training and funding to insurgent groups. Iran denies the accusations.

Separately, the military reported that coalition forces detained 27 suspected terrorists Sunday in operations targeting al-Qaida in central and northern Iraq.

ENDS

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