Iraq attack: Car bomb kills eight

A series of car bombs struck Shiite-majority areas of the Iraqi capital today, killing at least eight people, security and medical officials said.

The blasts, which struck during morning rush hour, also wounded at least 29 other people, the officials said.

The bloodshed comes as Iraq is tallying votes from parliamentary polls, as the country suffers its worst violence since the bloody Sunni-Shiite sectarian conflict that killed tens of thousands of people in 2006-2007.

The Iraqi government has blamed the unrest on external factors, including the civil war in neighbouring Syria, which has bolstered militant groups.

But analysts say that widespread anger among the country's Sunni Arab minority, which complains of discrimination at the hands of the Shiite-led government, has also played a major role in the unrest.