5 killed in restive central Iraq province

BAGHDAD: At least five people, including a woman and a child, were killed and nine wounded in a series of attacks in Iraq's restive central province of Diyala on Wednesday, security and hospital officials said.

In the worst attack, four people were killed and seven wounded when insurgents detonated bombs at the homes of three town criers whose job was to awaken people for the Ramadan pre-dawn meal, at around 3:00 am (0000 GMT) in the town of al-Hudaid, west of provincial capital Baquba, according to an Iraqi army colonel in Diyala's security command centre.

"Among the dead were a woman and a child, and two women and a child were among the wounded," the colonel said, speaking on condition of anonymity. He added that rescue workers were still searching the rubble of the houses, and warned the toll could rise.

Firas al-Dulaimi, a doctor at Baquba general hospital, also said four people had died and seven were injured.

None of the three town criers, who awaken people for early morning meals and dawn prayers before the daily Ramadan fast, were among the casualties, the army colonel said.

In the centre of Baquba, meanwhile, an anti-Qaeda militiaman was gunned down at around 8:00 am (0500 GMT) by insurgents equipped with silenced pistols, according to the colonel.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011