Gunmen shot dead four women in Baghdad and killed three men north of the capital on Sunday, security and medical officials said.

The women were killed in a house in the Karrada area of central Baghdad, while the men were shot dead while walking on the main road in the Mishahada area, they said.

It was not immediately clear why the victims were attacked. Shootings in Iraq often target security forces or government employees.

Violence in Iraq has fallen from its peak in 2006 and 2007, but attacks remain common, killing more than 200 people in each of the first four months of this year.

With the latest attacks, 109 people have been killed in violence so far this month, according to AFP figures based on security and medical sources.