Two separate attacks targeting security forces in northern Iraq have killed a police officer and wounded many other people.
Iraqi police say more than 40 people were wounded in a suicide car bomb attack Wednesday on an Iraqi army post in the city of Mosul. At least 10 civilians were among those wounded.
Police also say an officer was killed in a roadside bombing in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk.
Iraq is preparing for parliamentary elections in March, and officials have warned that insurgents trying to disrupt the vote could launch attacks as the election nears.
Kirkuk is the center of a dispute between Kurds in northern Iraq and the central government in Baghdad. Kurds want the city to become part of the nearby autonomous Kurdish region, while Arabs want the city to remain under their control.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
