Five people died and 20 wounded in a combination of explosions targeting a police patrol in Baghdad and then rescue workers, an interior ministry official said. According to the AP, a car bomb went off as a police patrol drove by the technology university in the central district of Rusafa, injuring three policemen.
As bystanders and rescue workers gathered around the area, two more bombs exploded, killing five people and wounding another 17.
The head of the justice office of the interior ministry, Major General Fakhr Abdel Hussein, was also shot dead by gunmen Wednesday in front of his home in the capital's upscale Mansur district.
Meanwhile, about 6,000 civilians died in Iraq during the two months of May and June, according to a report prepared by UN Assistance Mission for Iraq.
"A total of 5,818 civilians were reportedly killed and at least 5,762 wounded during May and June 2006," the human rights report said Tuesday. It said "killings, kidnappings and torture remain widespread in Iraq and the number of civilians killed continues to grow", adding that 244 women and 71 children were killed during these two months.Most of the victims were killed in Baghdad.
