BAGHDAD, March 10 (Xinhua) -- An anti-government protest organizer and another two people were killed separately in north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Sunday, the police said.
Benyan Sabbar al-Obeidi, an organizer of Sunni protests in the city of Kirkuk, some 250 km north of Baghdad, was shot dead by gunmen while he was leaving his house at al-Wasiti neighborhood in southern the city, a local police source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
Last month, Obeidi survived with slight wounds an assassination attempt while he was driving in the city.
In a separate incident, a government-backed Awakening Council group member was shot dead by gunmen in the town of al-Seniyah, some 200 km north of Baghdad, the source said.
The Awakening Council group, also known as Sons of Iraq movement or Sahwa, consists of mostly anti-U.S. Sunni insurgent militant groups, who fought al-Qaida network after Sahwa's leaders became dismayed by al-Qaida's brutality and religious zealotry in the country.
In addition, an engineer working for the municipality of al- Seniyah was also killed by gunmen in the town while he was leaving his work in the afternoon, the source added.
In Iraq's eastern province of Diyala, five people were wounded in three bombings and shootings across the province during the day, a provincial police source anonymously told Xinhua.
Violence is still common in Iraqi cities despite the dramatic decrease since its peak in 2006 and 2007, when the country was engulfed in sectarian killings.
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