Many Killed In Fresh Iraq Violence

Iraqi officials say bombings and shelling in and around Baghdad on January 25 killed at least 12 people.

In the deadliest attack, mortar bombs struck a Shi'ite Muslim village near the city of Baquba northeast of Baghdad, killing at least six people, five of whom were from the same family.

Police said the assailants might have been aiming at a nearby police station.

Sunni Muslim insurgents often target the security forces, as well as Shi'ite civilians and Sunni tribal militiamen paid by the Shi'ite-led government to combat Al-Qaeda-linked groups.

Violence in Iraq climbed back to its highest level in five years in 2013, when nearly 9,000 people were killed, most of them civilians, according to the United Nations.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP