15 people killed in Iraqi bombing attacks

A wave of bombings across Iraq killed at least 15 people and wounded 165 others on Monday, officials said, just days before the country's first elections since US troops withdrew. A total of 14 car bombs and three roadside bombs struck seven cities including Baghdad, security and medical officials said, updating an earlier toll. Among the dead, a provincial elections candidate and six policemen, the latest in an uptick in violence just days ahead of polls. The credibility of the vote, Iraq's first since 2010, has been drawn into question as 14 election hopefuls have been murdered and just 12 of the country's 18 provinces will be taking part. In restive Diyala province, election candidate Najm al-Harbi was driving in his car along a highway when a bomb exploded, killing him, two of his brothers and a bodyguard, police and a medic said. An official from Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlak's office confirmed Harbi's death, and said he was the head of the deputy premier's list in Diyala province. Harbi's killing comes a day after Hatim Mohammed al-Dulaimi, a candidate for Salaheddin provincial council, was shot dead by gunmen near his home in Baiji, north of the Iraqi capital. Soldiers and policemen cast their ballots for the provincial elections on Saturday, a week ahead of the main vote, the country's first since March 2010 parliamentary polls.