Story highlights

Gunmen attack three checkpoints, killing at least six, police say

A double-suicide bombing west of Baghdad leaves two dead, police say

Bombings and shootings are also reported in Mosul and Ramadi

CNN  — 

A wave of bombings and shootings across Iraq on Thursday that targeted primarily security forces left at least 24 people dead and dozens more wounded, authorities said.

The attacks come as sectarian tensions have been on the rise as Iraq’s Sunni Muslims have been protesting against the Shiite-dominated government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

At least six police officers and four civilians were killed when gunmen attacked three checkpoints close to an oil pipeline between the towns of Haditha and Baji in western Iraq, police officials said.

West of Baghdad in al-Khaldiya, a double-suicide bombing targeted a police station, leaving at least two policemen dead and four wounded, officials said.

Another six people were killed by a car bomb near the civil court in Tuz Khurmatou, north of Baghdad, police in the town said.

Tuz Khurmatou is in Iraq’s northern Salaheddin province, considered one the disputed areas between al-Maliki’s Baghdad-based government and the Kurdish regional government.

Also, two people were killed and 14 wounded when two car bombs exploded in the disputed city of Kirkuk, police said.

Attacks – a combination of car bombs, suicide bombings and shootings – also were reported in Baghdad, Mosul and Ramadi, according to authorities.

Saddam’s half-brother dies of cancer