A coordinated wave of bombings tore through Shiite Muslim areas in and around the Iraqi capital early today, part of a wave of bloodshed that killed at least 65 people and wounded many more, officials said.
The blasts, which came in quick succession, mainly targeted residents out shopping and on their way to work.
In addition to the bombings, the death toll included seven Shiite family members killed when gunmen raided their home and shot them as they slept.
Insurgents deployed explosives-laden cars, suicide bombers and other bombs today and targeted parking lots, outdoor markets and restaurants in predominantly Shiite neighbourhoods of Baghdad, according to officials. A military convoy was also hit south of the capital.
The northern neighbourhood of Kazimiyah, home to a prominent, gold-domed Shiite shrine, was the worst hit.
Two bombs went off in a parking lot, followed by a suicide car bomber who struck onlookers who had gathered at the scene. Police said 10 people were killed and 27 hurt in that attack.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the day's attacks, but they bore the hallmarks of the Iraqi branch of al-Qaeda.
The group frequently targets Shiites, which it considers heretics, and employs coordinated bombings in an attempt to incite sectarian strife.
The Shiite family shot dead at home were found in the Sunni town of Latifiyah, 30 kilometres south of Baghdad.
Three children, ages eight to 12, were killed along with their parents and two uncles in that attack, police said.
Many of the day's blasts targeted morning shoppers. Among them was a parked car bomb that detonated in a commercial area in the northern Shaab neighbourhood of Baghdad, killing nine and wounding 15.
More parked car bombs went off in outdoor markets in the sprawling slum of Sadr City, where five were killed and 20 were wounded.
Similar attacks hit the northeastern neighbourhood of Shula, killing three and wounding nine; the southeastern Jisr Diyala in an outdoor market, killing eight and wounding 22; and the east New Baghdad area, killing three and wounding 12.
Blasts also hit the neighbourhoods of Bayaa, Jamila, Hurriyah and Saydiyah, claiming a total of 12 lives.
In Mahmoudiyah, 30 kilometres south of Baghdad, a suicide blast outside a restaurant, killed four and wounded 13.
And in Madain, a roadside bomb struck a passing military patrol, killing four soldiers and wounding six others.
