Dozens dead in Iraq suicide bombings

BAGHDAD, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- A series of suicide bombings, including a blast during a funeral in northern Iraq, claimed dozens of lives Wednesday in Iraq.

At least 30 people were killed Wednesday by a bomber who set off a device during the funeral for a local politician in Miqdadiya, the BBC said. Mourners were attacked with automatic weapons fire and mortars before a bomb was detonated while people tried to flee.

Elsewhere, a car bombing in Baghdad killed five people and injured 15 others, while a drive-by shooting killed an Iraqi oil official and his son. The car bomb exploded about 10 a.m., and targeted an Iraqi police patrol in the northern part of the city, CNN said.

Soon after in the western part of Baghdad, police became involved in a half-hour firefight with insurgents. One policeman was killed and 16 other officers injured.

In the same area, gunmen opened fire from a car, killing Rahim Ali al-Suddani, a director general with Iraq's Oil Ministry, and his son.

Meanwhile, a security operation launched by the Interior Ministry all but shut down the city's main streets to traffic. It was linked to the Tuesday disappearance of the sister of Iraqi Interior Minister Bayan Jabr. It was unclear whether she fled the scene or was kidnapped, the report said.