(AP) Baghdad – Two separate attacks killed 17 people on Thursday in a northeastern Iraqi province that was once an al Qaeda stronghold, Iraqi officials said.

The marketplace car bombing and the assault on the home of an anti-al Qaeda militia leader came on the third day of a visit by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, in advance of the withdrawal of American troops at the end of the year.

A parked car bomb exploded in the town of Khalis as morning shoppers were starting to arrive, killing 10 persons and wounding 22 others, two police officials said.

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