Gunmen Friday shot dead 18 people who work at a gas pipeline from Iran to Iraq in the area northeast of Baghdad , police said .
Most of the victims in the attack were Iranian citizens , they said , AFP reported .
According to some officials , the shooting near Baladruz that killed 15 Iranians and three Iraqis , and wounding five Iranians and two Iraqis .
Violence in Iraq has reached levels not seen since 2008, when the country was beginning to recover from deadly sectarian conflict in 2006-2007 that claimed tens of thousands of lives .
According to UN figures , almost 1,000 people were killed in October in attacks in Iraq .
Nearly 900 civilians were killed in Iraq in September , according to the UN mission in Iraq .
Friday's violence was the latest in a wave of bombings and suicide attacks in the middle of a political crisis between Prime Minister Nuri al - Maliki and his government partners and protest marches for several weeks demanding his resignation .
More than 800 people were killed in attacks in August , which has become one of the most deadly month in Iraq .
Based on data collected by the UN and the Iraqi government in July was the deadliest month in five years with a death toll of more than 1,000 people .
A wave of attacks in Iraq increased since the beginning of this year , and according to the UN report , more than 2,500 people were killed from April to June alone , the highest number since 2008 .
Death toll reaches 271 in March , while in February , 220 people were killed in violence in Iraq , according to an AFP tally based on information from sources and medical security .
Iraq hit by political turmoil and violence that killed thousands of people since U.S. forces completed the withdrawal from the country on December 18, 2011 , leaving security responsibilities to Iraqi forces .
In addition to problems with the Kurds , the Iraqi government also clashed with Sunni groups .
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al - Maliki ( Shiite ) since December 2011 seeking the arrest of Vice President Tareq al - Hashemi on terrorism charges and tried to fire Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al - Absolute . Both are Sunni leader .
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