Bombs targeting Iraqi government, allies kill 5

[sabra]

Source: AP

BAGHDAD — Bombs targeting Iraqi officials and al-Qaida foes killed at least five people Tuesday and wounded more than 13 in separate attacks in Baghdad and beyond the capital, officials said.

Government officials and employees, as well as members of Iraq's security forces have frequently been targeted by insurgents seeking to destabilize the country as U.S. forces prepare for a full withdrawal from Iraq by the end of next year.

The violence began Tuesday with an 8 a.m. roadside bomb in the mainly Sunni area of Dora, a former insurgent stronghold in southern Baghdad, that was aimed at a convoy of a senior Transportation Ministry official missed its target and killed two bystanders.

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Anger against the government also has been on the rise, as officials continue to dither over naming Iraq's next leaders amid sorely lacking public services. Protests over electricity shortages in Iraq's sweltering south continued Tuesday, prompting Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to promise to make power needs a top government priority.

"I understand the issue of powers shortages, but we should not politicize these demonstrations," al-Maliki told reporters in Baghdad, several hours after a protest in Karbala ended peacefully.

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