33 killed by militants in Iraq violence

Attacks around Baghdad and north Iraq left 33 people dead on Wednesday, including 18 members of a Shiite family killed by militants, the latest in a nationwide surge of violence.

Attacks around Baghdad and north Iraq left 33 people dead on Wednesday, including 18 members of a Shiite family killed by militants, the latest in a nationwide surge of violence.

The unrest came a day after a wave of bombings targeting Shiites in Baghdad and shootings and bombings elsewhere killed 54 people.

Wednesday’s violence struck towns on the outskirts of Baghdad as well as predominantly Sunni cities in the north of the country, with the deadliest attack occurring south of the capital.

Shortly after midnight, militants bombed adjacent houses belonging to Shiite Muslim brothers in the town of Latifiyah, which lies about 40 kilometres south of Baghdad.

A total of 18 people were killed, including five women and six children, and a dozen others were wounded, according to an army officer and a doctor at a nearby hospital.