Saturday’s wave of attacks began with the explosion of a roadside bomb in a commercial street in the northern city of Tikrit, which was followed by a car bomb that struck policemen inspecting the site minutes later, officials said.

Five policemen and two civilians were killed and 18 people were wounded in the bombings.

An explosive-laden car also blasted at a security checkpoint near the town of Adeim located about 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of the capital Baghdad, leaving three civilians and three cops dead.

At a military checkpoint near the northern city of Mosul, a roadside bomb killed two soldiers and injured three others.

The head of a local radio station, identified as Mohammed Bedwei, was also shot dead at a checkpoint in eastern Baghdad.

The killings come as Iraqi security forces supported by Sunni tribesmen are battling militants, many from the infamous radical group of Islamic State of Iraq and Levant, in the western province of Anbar.

The violence in Anbar broke out on December 30, 2013, when the army removed an anti-government protest camp in Ramadi.

Authorities said the camp was used as “headquarters for the leadership of al-Qaeda.” The bloodshed later spread to nearby Fallujah.

The Iraqi government has stepped up efforts to boost security across the country over the past few months.

SHI/SHI