Iraq Endures Day of Violence Ahead of Holiday - East Idaho News
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Iraq Endures Day of Violence Ahead of Holiday

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GETTY W 022312 IraqMap?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1351157339007iStockphoto/Thinkstock(BAGHDAD) — Fatalities from insurgent-related violence are picking up once again in Iraq as Muslims prepare to celebrate the Eid al-Adha holiday beginning Friday.

As in previous years, Islamic militants are particularly active ahead of the occasion.

Since Sunday, 36 people have been killed in Iraq, more than the combined total of deaths reported during October’s first 15 days.

The latest violence Wednesday took the lives of 15 people in central and north Iraq.  In the deadliest incident, gunmen targeted workers from a car spare parts factory returning home in a town less than 20 miles from Baghdad, leaving six dead.

Meanwhile, a car bomb explosion in the western city of Fallujah killed two police officers and two civilians outside the home of the Iraqi finance minister’s father, who was not hurt in the blast.

The daily death toll was the highest in Iraq since 33 people died nationwide on Sept. 30.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

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