Attacks on Monday killed six people in Iraq, as gunmen defied massive government operations to stem some of the worst violence to have hit the country in five years.

Attacks on Monday killed six people in Iraq, as gunmen defied massive government operations to stem some of the worst violence to have hit the country in five years.

The attacks concentrated in Mosul in northern Iraq that has long been one of the country's most violent areas.

Three workers in a carpentry shop were shot dead by militants, while two policemen were gunned down in a pre-dawn attack on a checkpoint, AFP quoted officials as saying.

Gunmen also killed a Kurdish man outside his house in Mosul.