Four killed by twin Baghdad bombs

Four people have been killed in twin bomb attacks at a checkpoint in a Sunni area of Baghdad, Iraqi police say.

At least two of those killed were members of a Sunni militia group opposed to al-Qaeda in Iraq.

Many members of such group – known as Awakening Councils – are former insurgents who have switched sides over the last two years.

Their switching of sides is one of the factors widely believed to have reduced the level of violence in Iraq.

This morning’s rush hour blasts are part of a string of bombs that went off in the capital.

A roadside bomb detonated near a mosque in Baghdad’s central Bab al-Sheikh neighbourhood, killing one person and injuring four others, police said.

Another roadside bomb targeting a government pick-up truck in the Shia stronghold of Sadr City injured nine people, including five city employees.

There has been a marked increase in violence this week, with a string of daily bombings in the Iraqi capital that have killed more than 30 people and wounded more than 80.