Officials in Iraq say separate attacks in the country's centre have killed at least 13 civilians and wounded about 40.
A police officer says all today's bombings came from explosives-rigged cars parked in commercial areas in two cities south of Baghdad.
He says the deadliest blast killed five and wounded 12 in downtown Hillah. Not far from that blast, he says another car bomb went off, killing four and wounding 16.
Hillah is located about 95 kilometres south of Baghdad.
The officer says a third explosion killed four people and wounded 10 in the nearby town of Iskandariyah, about 50 kilometres south of the capital.
Two medical officials confirmed figures.
All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to release the information.
