BAGHDAD (Xinhua) -- Eight people were killed and some 33 others wounded in attacks in eastern and central Iraq on Tuesday, in a new escalation in violence in the country several months before the proposed departure of all U.S. troops from Iraq.

The deadliest attack in the day occurred in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala, when five suicide bombers attacked the compound of the provincial council in central the city of Baquba, some 65 km northeast of Baghdad, killing three policemen and four suicide bombers, along with wounding 28 people.
Fifteen security members were among the 28 wounded and the rest were eight of the council employees and five civilians, according to a source from Diyala's operations command who spoke to Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
The coordinated attack took place at about local time 9:30 a.m. (0630 GMT) when one suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden car outside the entrance of Diyala's provincial council compound, paving the way to four suicide bombers wearing explosive vests to enter the building of the outer reception at the entrance of the compound, the source said.
One of the four bombers blew himself up inside the reception building while three others tried to enter the nearby council building, but they were confronted by heavy gunfire by the guards, the source added.
The Iraqi security forces, including a U.S.-backed Iraqi Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) force, cordoned off the scene and waged an attack on the compound, killing two suicide bombers and wounding another before they captured him, the source said.
“The Iraqi security forces ended the attack and the situation is under control,” the source said, adding that none of the provincial council members was hurt by the attack.
Deleir Hassan, deputy head of the provincial council's security committee, told Xinhua that “a woman was among the four suicide bombers who stormed the compound and was blown up during the fierce clashes.”