Violence in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Wednesday left a Sunni cleric and a senior police official dead.
In the first attack, police say gunmen opened fire on the cleric outside of the al-Rahman mosque in northern Baghdad.
In western Baghdad, Brigadier General Arkan Mohammed Ali was killed when a bomb planted on his car exploded. Three others nearby, including a police officer, were also wounded.
In a central Baghdad commercial district Wednesday, a bomb exploded in a sports shop, killing one person and wounding at least six others.
Attacks in Baghdad have risen sharply since the March 7 parliamentary elections. Iraqi officials fear political uncertainty is encouraging a resurgence of extremist violence, particularly by militants with al-Qaida in Iraq.
The election results gave former Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's secular coalition two more seats than the Shi'ite-led coalition of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
It could take months for rival coalitions to form a new government.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
