![An Iraqi woman looks into a blood stained car of two women shot dead in central Baghdad earlier this month. [presstv]](/sites/default/files/styles/d08_standard/public/im/iraq/iraqattacks.jpg?itok=y9VrLBQk "An Iraqi woman looks into a blood stained car of two women shot dead in central Baghdad earlier this month. [presstv]")
Attacks on Thursday morning in and north of Baghdad killed six people. Three of the victims were women who were gunned down in the capital, officials said.
In what continues to be a rise in violence, the worst since 2008, Iraqis are seeing an increase in bloodshed. So far this year, more than 5,400 people have died despite authorities having carried out many operations and implemented more harsh security measures.
The women’s bodies were found in northeast Baghdad, All three blindfolded women suffered from multiple gunshot wounds to the head, execution-style. Their bodies were found in an empty plot in a Shiite-majority neighborhood.
Police reported that the initial investigations showed the women were shot early on Thursday.
This style of execution was common during the height of the Sunni-Shiite conflict in 2006-2007, when thousands died.
Also on Thursday, one soldier and two others were wounded when a gunman attacked their patrol in the northern city of Mosul. Another roadside bombing targeting an army patrol northwest of the city left one soldier dead and two more wounded, officials said.
In another region, gunmen killed one Sahwa anti-Qaida fighter and wounded another in an attack targeting their checkpoint in Baiji, north of Baghdad.
The Sahwa, Sunni tribal militias, are known for their involvement in late 2006 onwards, for turning against their co-religionists in al-Qaida and siding with the US military. Their involvement helped to turn the tide of Iraq's bloody insurgency.
They are frequently targeted because Sunni militants view them as traitors.
More than 720 people have been killed in attacks so far in October alone, according to an Agence France Presse tally.
