Islam Times - 16 killed, many injured in two separate attacks in Iraq

Islam Times - At least 16 people have been killed and dozens injured in two separate terrorist attacks in Iraq, security sources say.

Nine Iraqi police were killed and seven others were injured in clashes with armed militants in the northern city of Mosul on Friday.

Seven people were also killed after a car bomb exploded outside a Sunni mosque in Rashidiyah, north of Baghdad, as worshippers left the mosque following the Friday Prayers.

Thirteen people were also injured in the attack. Sunnis and Shias have both recently been the target of terrorist attacks in Iraq.

The attacks come a day after the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) said that April 2013 was Iraq's deadliest month since June 2008, with a total of 712 people killed and 1,633 wounded in bomb attacks and other forms of violence.

Almost 600 of the victims are reported to be civilians and the rest were members of Iraqi security forces.

The mission also said that Baghdad was the worst affected governorate with a total of 211 killed and 486 injured.

"Baghdad was the worst affected governorate, with a total of 697 civilian casualties, followed by Diyala, Salahuddin, Kirkuk, Ninewa and Anbar," the UNAMI statement added.

Iraq's Interior Ministry, however, puts the total death toll for April at 245.