One policeman was killed and four others were wounded when gunmen attacked a checkpoint in Al-Filahat area, 10 kilometres (six miles) west of Fallujah, which is itself west of Baghdad, police Captain Omar al-Filahi said.

In Balad, 70 kilometres (43 miles) north of Baghdad, unknown assailants blew up the home of local prosecutor Hardan Khalifa, killing one woman and wounding eight other people including three women and a child, a hospital official said.

And in Baquba, 60 kilometres (37.5 miles) northeast of the capital, two improvised explosive devices wounded three people including Mal Allah Abbas Ahmed, who heads the Sunni religious endowment for Diyala province, police and medical officials said.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who was approved by parliament for a second term along with a national unity cabinet on December 21 after more than nine months of political deadlock, has cited security as one of his priorities.