Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq

     BAGHDAD, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Two bomb attacks in Baghdad on Monday killed a police officer and wounded 12 people, an Interior Ministry source said.

    A roadside bomb explosion near an Iraqi Army checkpoint in the Zaafaraniya district in southeast Baghdad, killing an off-duty police captain, who was passing by, and wounding seven people, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

    A soldier was among the wounded people, the source said.

    In separate incident, a twin roadside bomb explosions struck a police patrol in an intersection in the Shiite neighborhood of Amel in southern Baghdad, wounding two policemen and damaging a police vehicle, the source added.

    Three civilians were also wounded by the blasts, he said.

    Despite the security gains in recent months in Iraq, there are still sporadic bombings, which shape setback to the Iraqi government.