Iraq bombings kill five

TIKRIT: Four bombings in northern Iraq killed five people and wounded 69 on Tuesday, officials said, the latest in a spate of violence that has killed more than 370 people so far this month.

Two car bombs exploded in a Turkmen Shiite area of Tuz Khurmatu, a town in Salaheddin province, killing three people, wounding 44 and causing extensive damage to 10 houses, police and a doctor said.

And two roadside bombs detonated in a sheep market in the city of Kirkuk, killing two people and wounding 25, other officials said.

Both Tuz Khurmatu and Kirkuk are part of a swathe of territory that Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region wants to incorporate over the strong objections of the federal government -- a dispute diplomats and officials say is a major threat to the country's long-term stability.

The bombings came a day after attacks killed more than 60 people across Iraq, which has been hit by a wave of violence in which 371 people have died so far this month, according to a tally of figures given by officials.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has announced plans to overhaul the country's security strategy and personnel, and that the matter would be discussed at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday.