9 people killed in series of bombings and shootings

Men inspect site of blast outside cafe Baghdad's Bayaa neighborhood A series of bombings and shootings, mostly in Sunni-majority areas of Baghdad and northern Iraq, killed nine people Friday as security forces struggle to stem a protracted surge in bloodshed. The attacks, which followed consecutive days in which more than 100 people were killed overall, are the latest in a flare-up that has prompted Baghdad to appeal for international help combatting militancy just months before Iraq's first general election in four years.
Officials have voiced concern over a resurgent Al-Qaeda emboldened by the civil war in neighbouring Syria which has provided the jihadist network's front groups with increased room to plan operations in Iraq.
Attacks on Thursday struck in and around Baghdad and the main northern city of Mosul.
Explosions in the capital and the predominantly Sunni Arab town of Tarmiyah just to the north left five people dead, including two anti-Qaeda Sunni militiamen, security and medical officials said.
Further attacks near Mosul, a mostly Sunni city in restive Nineveh province, killed four people -- two soldiers and two policemen.
The unrest is part of a surge in bloodshed that has pushed violence to its highest level since 2008, when Iraq was recovering from the worst of its Sunni-Shiite sectarian war
More than 5,800 people have been killed so far this year, according to an AFP tally based on reports from security and medical officials.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has called for Washington's help in the form of greater intelligence sharing and the timely delivery of new weapons systems.
But diplomats and analysts say the government is not doing enough to address the root causes of the unrest, particularly frustration within the Sunni Arab minority, which complains of mistreatment by the Shiite-led authorities.
Source: AFP