Six die in lastest Iraq violence - CNN

By Mohammed Tawfeeq, CNN

March 24, 2011 -- Updated 0303 GMT (1103 HKT)

Baghdad, Iraq (CNN) -- At least six Iraqis were killed and 11 others were wounded in violence Wednesday, Interior Ministry officials told CNN.

In Zafaraniya district in southeastern Baghdad, a roadside bomb exploded on a busy road, killing a civilian and wounding seven others. Wisam Karim, an employee at the Public Works Ministry, was shot dead by gunmen in Sadr city in eastern Baghdad.

The attackers used pistols equipped with silencers, authorities said.

In al-Hurriya district in northwestern Baghdad, a sticky bomb attached to a vehicle belonging to the Ministry of Electricity exploded and killed the driver and wounded two bystanders. In Amriya neighborhood in western Baghdad, a sticky bomb attached to a civilian car exploded and killed the driver instantly.

In Mosul, about 420 kilometers north of Baghdad, gunmen shot dead a police officer in the city center, using pistols equipped with silencers, authorities said. Also in Mosul, Iraqi security forces shot dead a motorist when he was driving against traffic in central Mosul, thinking he was a suicide bomber.

Overall violence in Iraq has dropped dramatically since the peak of the sectarian violence in Iraq between 2005 and 2007, but such attacks still occur on a daily bases.

Meanwhile, the Minister of State for National Reconciliation, Amer Khuzaie, announced the launch of the first phase of reconciliation with the armed groups, stressing that this will be followed by other stages.

"The national reconciliation is only with armed groups who carried weapons against the occupiers and not against Iraqi people," Khuzaie said in a joint news conference with leaders of armed groups.

Khuzaie refused to give list of names of the armed groups who attended the conference, but he said at least four armed groups agreed to join this conference and to support the political process in Iraq.

"Those armed groups realized that (the) Iraqi government is determined to end the foreign troops presence in Iraq through political agreements," Khuzaie added.