Iraq

Six killed in attacks, oil production to increase

Article published on the 2008-11-13 Latest update 2008-11-13 17:17 TU

A priest performs funeral rites for a Christian resident killed in a bomb attack on Wednesday in northern Baghdad
(Photo: Reuters)

Six people died in violence in several incidents around Iraq on Thursday. Over thirty people were left injured in a series of attacks.

Three people died in a car bomb attack west of the city of Ramadi when an attacker drove a car into a police patrol. Two of the dead were civilians and the third was a policeman.

In Baghdad, a homemade bomb exploded on a minibus killing one, while in a separate incident in the capital a gunman shot dead a police captain.

In the Diyala province, a policemant was killed by a sniper while manning a checkpoint.

Bulgaria on Thursday said it would withdraw its troops on 31 December this year. Prime Minister Staanishev said the mandate for the Bulgarian contingent expired at the end of this year and that Bulgaria's partners in the US-led coalition in Iraq had been informed.

He said the country had lost 13 soldiers and six civilians in the course of its presence.

In the UK, a spokesman for Prime Minister Gordon Brown reiterated his country's committment to the operations in Iraq, recalling "the ongoing committment" of British troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Also on Thursday, Iraq's Finance Minister Baqer Jabr Solagh said the government was to allocate an extra two billion dollars to the oil sector in next year's budget.

He said the Oil Ministry will increase production to six million barrels per day over the next ten years.