Baghdad area bombings kill five

BAGHDAD: Bombings killed five people in the outskirts of Baghdad on Saturday as the count from an April 30 general election finally neared completion.

The deaths were latest in a protracted surge in bloodshed that has seen 3,500 people killed already this year, AFP reports.

Four people died in roadside bombing in a market area of Tarmiyah, north of Baghdad, officials said.

Another blast, in Latifiyah, south of the capital, killed a soldier.

On Friday, four people died in shelling of the militant-held city of Fallujah, a short drive west of Baghdad, where troops have gone on the offensive in recent days without making much apparent headway.

Electoral officials said provisional results could be released as early as Sunday, a week earlier than originally expected.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is bidding for a third term but opponents blame him for the deterioration in security as well as what they say is rampant corruption and insufficient improvement in basic services.