A prominent army officer and seven others died in Iraq Tuesday, according to Agence France Presse.
Lieutenant General Hassan Karim Khudayr was killed while flying his helicopter after the aircraft experience a "technical defect" malfunction while landing north of Baghdad, according to defense minister reports. It is not clear at what exact time the accident occurred.
Shelling in the city of Fallujah, which has been under anti-government militant rule since January this year, left five more dead and 16 more wounded. Police sources told AFP that mortar rounds and two suicide bombings in Ramadi left another person dead and eight more wounded.
One other man was shot dead in Kirkuk by a militant Tuesday as well, according to another police source.
More than 350 people have been killed in Iraq in April alone and more than 3,000 have died since the beginning of the year due to escalating sectarian violence that is sweeping the country.
