The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Baghdad

Bombings and shootings in Baghdad on Tuesday killed five people, including a senior government official, and wounded nine, Iraqi security officials said.

The official from the Geological Survey and a person accompanying him were shot dead when their car was raked with gunfire by unidentified attackers in Buratha, in the centre of Baghdad, a security official said.

In a similar incident, two civilians were killed when their car was attacked by gunmen in Drag neighbourhood of western Baghdad, he said.

One person was killed and six wounded when a bomb exploded at Al-Shariqa crossroads in southwestern Al-Bayaa neighbourhood, another official said.

Separately, three people were injured in a roadside bomb in Al-Baladiyat in southeastern Baghdad.

US military commanders say that there has been a sharp decline in the levels of violence across Iraq, including in Baghdad.

But they caution progress is "fragile" and "far from irreversible."