North Iraq Bombings Kill Four Security Personnel

Two bombings targeting security forces in northern Iraq killed two policemen and two soldiers on Sunday evening, security and medical officials said.

In the first attack in the town of Tuz Khurmatu, 175 kilometers (110 miles) north of Baghdad, a roadside bomb targeted an army patrol at around 6:30 pm (1530 GMT).

The blast killed two soldiers and wounded two others, according to doctor Mohammed Abdullah at the main hospital in the northern city of Kirkuk where the casualties were taken.

Another bombing at 7:45 pm (1645 GMT) targeting a police patrol in Kirkuk city, 240 kilometers (150 miles) north of the capital, killed two policemen and wounded two others, Abdullah and police Lieutenant Colonel Khaled al-Bayati said.

Violence in Iraq is down dramatically from its peaks in 2006 and 2008, but attacks remain common -- 278 people were killed in August, according to an Agence France Presse tally based on reports from security and medical officials.