Car bomb wounds Iraqi judge, kills two

A car bomb on Wednesday in the north Iraq city of Kirkuk exploded as a judge's car was passing, wounding him and nine others and leaving two people dead, security and medical officials said. The bomb exploded as Judge Aziz Abdullah of the Kirkuk criminal court was driving near the Kirkuk Palace hotel in the centre of the city, police Brigadier General Sarhad Qader said. Qader, who put the toll at two dead and a total of 10 wounded, said the judge was in a stable condition. Dr Mohammed Abdullah of Kirkuk General Hospital meanwhile put the toll at two dead and 12 wounded. Details of those killed and others wounded in the attack were not immediately available. Also on Wednesday, unknown gunmen using silenced weapons shot dead a female lawyer in her car north of Baghdad, an interior ministry official said. The latest killings bring to at least 142 the number of people killed in attacks in Iraq since June 13 -- more than were killed in all of May, according to official figures. Violence in Iraq has declined dramatically since its peak in 2006-2007, but attacks remain common. A total of 132 Iraqis were killed in violence in May, according to official figures.