3 killed in Baghdad violence

senior anti-terrorism police officer, Sunni cleric and a policeman were killed in separate attacks in Baghdad on Wednesday, an Interior Ministry source said.

Berigadier Arkaan Ali, a high-ranking officer in the Iraqi anti- terrorism police, was killed by blast of a bomb planted in his vehicle while travelling near the Nisour Square in western Baghdad, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The blast also killed a traffic policeman who was close to the scene and wounded a passerby, the source said.

In separate incident, Ghazi Faisal, Imam of the al-Rahman Sunni mosque in Baghdad's northern district of Adhamiyah, was shot dead by gunmen in their car in front of his house in the neighborhood, the source said.

The gunmen used pistols equipped with silencers in their attack, the source added.

Iraqi security forces sealed off the scene and conducted search operation in the area looking for the attackers who fled the scene immediately after the attack, he said.

Sporadic attacks continue in Iraq more than a month after the country held its landmark parliamentary election which is widely expected to shape the political landscape of the war-torn country.

Source: Xinhua