Thursday's attacks came amid a surge in violence that has killed more than 2,500 people already this year, including upwards of 250 so far this month.

In Thursday's single deadliest incident, gunmen shot dead 11 police charged with protecting the country's vital oil infrastructure and three soldiers on the road between Haditha and Baiji, northwest of the Iraqi capital.

In another attack, a car bomb ripped through a funeral tent where family members of a Shiite man were receiving condolences in Muqdadiyah, northeast of Baghdad, and a suicide bomber detonated explosives when emergency personnel arrived.

The blasts killed a total of 10 people and wounded 22.

And a car bomb near a Shiite religious hall close to Dujail, north of Baghdad, killed nine people and wounded 21 more.

Many people gather at places of worship at night during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began earlier this week.

Militant groups including those linked to Al-Qaeda frequently target members of Iraq's Shiite majority.

Iraq was plagued by increasing violence that killed tens of thousands of people in past years, and there are persistent fears that tensions will again boil over into all-out conflict.
Security forces are also frequently targeted in attacks.

NJF/NJF