3 farmers among 6 killed in Iraq

Three farmers were among six people killed in a series of attacks in Iraq on Thursday, police and doctors said, as the country struggles to curb the worst violence since 2008. A magnetic "sticky bomb" killed a man and his wife, both farmers, in the Dujail area as they drove to work, while another farmer was shot dead by gunmen near Balad, officials said. Another four people were wounded when a roadside bomb went off as police arrived at the scene of the Balad attack. Dujail and Balad are located north of Baghdad. The deadliest attack, however, was when a roadside bomb killed three young men in the town of Wajihiyah, northeast of Baquba, the capital of Diyala province. Areas to the north of Baquba have been hit by numerous attacks in recent days, including a bombing on Wednesday that killed three children at a popular swimming area. The latest unrest brings to 430 the number of people killed in attacks so far in July and more than 2,690 since the beginning of the year. Iraq has faced years of attacks by militants, but analysts say widespread discontent among members of its Sunni Arab minority, which the Shiite-led government has failed to address, has driven the spike in unrest this year.