At least 17 people have been killed in a series of bombings and shootings across Iraq.
In the predominantly Sunni town of Samarra, a roadside bomb targeting an Iraqi police patrol left five police officers and two civilians dead.
The attack took place close to the al-Askari shrine, which was bombed earlier this month.
In northern Baghdad, a bomb blast in a market left five people dead and a further 10 wounded.
Meanwhile a suicide bombing in the central Jadiriyah district of the capital killed one civilian and injured five others.
And in the northern Iraqi town of Taza, near Kirkuk, an attack on a police station claimed the lives of four police officers.
The ethnically volatile region around Kirkuk has seen increased violence over the past several months.
