Bomb attacks in Iraq leave 12 dead, several injured

At least 12 people have been killed and 19 others have been injured in two bomb attacks in the northern Iraqi town of Tal Afar, police say. The first explosion, caused by a car bomb, occurred near a restaurant in the town center on Wednesday, killing five people. Minutes later, a man detonated the explosive he was wearing in a crowd of onlookers, which killed seven others. Earlier, two people were killed and seven others were wounded in a car bomb explosion in Western Baghdad district of Mansour.Police say the blast targeted the convoy of Mohammed al-Darraji, the minister of reconstruction and housing. The Iraqi minister escaped unhurt, but two of his bodyguards were injured in the attack. There has been a rise in violence in Iraq since US troops left the country in December and hundreds of Iraqis, among them police and security personnel, have lost their lives during this time. On Monday, at least 27 policemen were killed after unknown gunmen attacked several checkpoints in the western city of Haditha. It is widely believed that the increasing attacks are part of an anti-Iraq plot to show that the Baghdad government is incapable of protecting Iraqis.