Iraq violence kills 7 in Baghdad-area attacks

Seven people were killed in attacks in and around the Iraqi capital of Baghdad on Friday, local police officials told the Associated Press. 

Violence has been on the rise in Iraq in recent months; BBC News said nearly 700 people have been killed in the last few weeks alone.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki addressed the issue in a nationally televised speech on Wednesday, vowing to track down those responsible for attacks that have taken the lives of thousands over the past several months.

More from GlobalPost: Q&A: What's behind the spike of violence in Iraq?

On Friday, gunmen walked into the home of the police chief in Muqdadiyah, which is north of Baghdad, and killed him before his family's eyes, according to Agence-France Press. 

Later that evening in a western part of the capital, a bomb detonated at a soccer field killed fize people and wounded over a dozen, officials told the AP. 

Medical workers also confirmed the toll to the AP. 

Also Friday, a bomb attack halted the flow of crude oil through a pipeline running from Iraq's Kirkuk oil fields to the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan in Turkey, two Iraqi oil officials told Reuters.

The attack took place at around 0100 GMT on Friday near the al-Shura area 40 miles to the south of the city of Mosul. The officials said repair work would be complete in around 48 hours.

"Attackers planted a roadside bomb near a section of the pipeline," one official said. The 900 km pipeline has been bombed by militants around 30 times since the start of the year, according to the oil ministry.

Reuters contributed to this report.