BAGHDAD, April 24 (UPI) -- Gunmen using handguns with silencers killed three Iraqi government officials in separate incidents in Baghdad, security officials said.
The victims targeted late Saturday were employees of the defense ministry, the tax ministry and an intelligence agent, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.
Security scanning at checkpoints throughout the city was stepped up, leading to long traffic delays into Sunday morning, China's Xinhua news agency reported.
In southwestern Baghdad, a bomb taped to a car exploded, injuring two people, CNN said.
In the northern city of Kirkuk, a roadside bomb killed an Iraqi soldier and two civilians riding in a car late Saturday, a police official told Xinhua.
The Interior Ministry said while violence in the country is down from its peak between 2005 and 2007, 247 people were killed in March, up from 197 people in February, CNN said.
