Story highlights
NEW: At least five people are killed in a suicide car bombing in Tal-Afar
NEW: Three people are killed when gunmen attack a southern Mosul checkpoint
At least 10 people are killed when two bombs explode in Tuz Khurmatu
Bloodshed rises between Sunnis and Shiites
Double explosions of a roadside bomb and then a car bomb killed at least 10 people and wounded 40 others near a Shiite mosque north of Baghdad on Saturday, Tikrit police officials told CNN.
Elsewhere in Iraq, at least five people were killed and 18 more wounded when a suicide car bombing hit near a security checkpoint at an outdoor market in central Tal-Afar, outside of Mosul, the city’s police and health officials said Saturday. Tal-Afar is mostly inhabited by Shiite Turkmen.
In a third incident, three people were killed and six more wounded when gunmen attacked security checkpoints in southern Mosul, officials said.
In the double explosions near the mosque, the blasts took place in central Tuz Khurmatu, located in Salaheddin province about 125 miles north of Baghdad. There is also a security checkpoint near the mosque as well as several shops, police said.
It was the latest round of violence in Iraq.
On Friday, at least 21 people were killed and dozens wounded in shootings and explosions across the country, officials say.
The deadliest attack occurred in the neighborhood of Dora, southern Baghdad, where twin improvised explosive devices were detonated near an ice cream shop. Officials told CNN seven people – including children – died in the blasts and 18 others were wounded.
Political unrest and sectarian violence between Sunnis and Shiites have festered in recent months.
The U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq estimates at least 979 Iraqis – 852 of them civilians – were killed in October alone.
CNN’s Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report.