Suicide bomber kills 9 at Iraq police checkpoint

(CNN) -- A suicide bomber driving a car packed with explosives killed at least nine people and wounded 50 at a police checkpoint in the southern Iraqi city of Hilla, police officials said on Sunday.

Iraq has been beset with political and sectarian violence for months. More than 700 Iraqis were killed and nearly 1,400 others were wounded in terrorist attacks and other violence in February, the United Nations has said.

Sunday's attack happened at the entrance of the city, the police officials told CNN. Hilla is a predominantly Shiite Muslim city and lies about 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of the capital Baghdad.

Two Iraqi journalists who worked at state run Iraqiya TV died in the attack, the station reported.

Violence has raged in the country in the past year, often pitting Sunnis -- a minority in Iraq -- against Shiite Muslims, who came to dominate the government after Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was overthrown in 2003.

The United Nations said 2013 was the deadliest year in Iraq since 2008, with almost 8,000 people killed.

Security forces have also been fighting insurgents from the al Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq and Syria in the western Anbar province, which borders Syria.

Credit: CNN.com