At least 17 people were killed Wednesday across Iraq, including five policemen, in spate of attacks that appeared to be targeting security forces.

At least 17 people were killed Wednesday across Iraq, including five policemen, in spate of attacks that appeared to be targeting security forces.

More than 50 others were also injured in the attacks that took place in central and west Iraq.

In the deadliest attack, a car bomb exploded in front of a restaurant frequented by security force members in the town of Medhatiyah, just east of the central city of Hilla, in Babil province.
Provincial deputy governor Sadiq Rasul al-Mohannah put the toll at 13 dead and 42 wounded. He said three policemen were among the dead, and added that the casualties also included women and children.

Meanwhile, in the town of Habbaniyah, about 80 kilometers west of Baghdad, a "sticky bomb" attached to a bus carrying soldiers from an Iraqi air force base killed two soldiers and wounded 10 others, according to defense ministry spokesman Major General Mohammed al-Askari.

Also in Baghdad, militants opened fire on a police checkpoint in the Qahira neighbourhood, in the capital's north, killing two policemen and wounding another, an interior ministry official said.