Baghdad pet market bombs kill five: officials

Three near-simultaneous bomb blasts at a pet market in east Baghdad killed five people on Friday, officials said, just hours after an attack in the city's southeast left five dead.

The explosions, which occurred at around 7:00 am (0400 GMT) in the Maamal area, also wounded at least 31 other people, the security and medical officials said.

"At least five people were killed and 31 others were wounded when three bombs exploded in sequence inside a pet market," an interior ministry official said.

A medical source in Al-Sadr general hospital said it had received five bodies and treated 34 other people, more than 20 of whom were youths.

The attack came just hours after a bomb attack at a restaurant killed five people in Jisr Diyala, southeast Baghdad.

A shooting against an Iraqi army checkpoint in the main northern city of Mosul on Friday evening, meanwhile, left one soldier dead and another wounded, according to army First Lieutenant Khalaf Eidan.

Violence has diminished in Iraq since its heights in 2006 and 2007, but there are still regular attacks in the country.

In April, 126 Iraqis died in attacks nationwide, compared with 112 in March, the lowest figure since the 2003 US-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein.