In the deadliest attack, a Christian man and his two sons were gunned down in their home, bringing to eight the total number of Christians murdered in the city, 350 kilometres (220 miles) north of Baghdad, in the past 10 days.

"Unknown gunmen entered the house of Aishwa Maroki, who was 59 years old, and killed him and his two sons -- Mokhlas, 31, and Bassim, 25," said police Major Khalaf al-Juburi. All the victims were Syrian Catholic.

Juburi said Maroki's wife and daughter were in the west Mosul house when the shooting happened but were not killed. He added that the gunmen stole the family's gold before escaping.

According to a neighbour the gunmen arrived at the house on three motorcycles.

Local leaders had expressed concern that Christians could be targeted ahead of the March 7 parliamentary election in a country wracked by sectarian violence since the US-led invasion of 2003.

In November, New York-based Human Rights Watch warned that minorities in the oil-rich north including Christians were the collateral victims of a conflict between Arabs and Kurds over who controls Iraq's disputed northern provinces.

Later on Tuesday, policeman Ahmed al-Luhaibi was killed when a magnetic bomb attached to his car exploded at around 6:30 pm (1530 GMT) in south Mosul, a police officer said on condition of anonymity.

In the town of Tal Abta, 35 kilometres (20 miles) west of the city, police also found a bullet-riddled body at around 4:30 pm. A police official said the body, of a man aged between 30 and 35, could not immediately be identified.

While sectarian violence has dropped dramatically across Iraq since its peak from 2005 to 2007, attacks remain common, especially in Baghdad and Mosul.

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