5 soldiers among 11 killed in Iraq attacks

Attacks in Iraq killed 11 people including five soldiers on Sunday officials said, amid a surge in violence authorities have so far failed to stem despite wide-ranging operations targeting militants. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has vowed to press on with the anti-insurgent campaign, which is among the biggest since US forces withdrew in December 2011, but analysts and diplomats say authorities have failed to tackle the root causes of the violence. Sunday's violence struck north of Baghdad, in predominantly Sunni Arab areas of Iraq. The deadliest attack struck in Nineveh province, when gunmen opened fire on a van ferrying soldiers from Baghdad to their unit in the provincial capital Mosul, killing five of them, an army first lieutenant and a doctor said. Also in Nineveh, two separate attacks by gunmen left two civilians dead, including a member of the Shabak minority, according to police and a doctor. The 30,000-strong Shabak community mostly lives near Iraq's border with Turkey. They speak a distinct language and largely follow a faith that is a blend of Shiite Islam and local beliefs. Shabaks are frequently targeted in attacks by militants. Separate bombings on Sunday north of Baghdad also killed four people - a child and three nurses - and wounded 21 others, including a senior judge, according to police and medical sources. Violence has markedly increased in Iraq this year. Attacks have killed more than 3,600 people since the beginning of 2013, according to figures compiled by AFP. Analysts and diplomats link the upsurge of attack to anger among Sunni Arabs over their alleged ill-treatment at the hands of the Shiite-led authorities, which they say has given Sunni militant groups more room to recruit and carry out attacks. Source: AFP