A series of attacks in Baghdad and north Iraq killed 48 people today amid a surge in violence that authorities have failed to stem despite wide-ranging operations targeting militants.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has vowed to press on with his anti-insurgency campaign, which has reportedly led to the arrest of hundreds of alleged militants and the killing of dozens.
But analysts and diplomats say authorities have failed to tackle the root causes of Iraq's worst violence since 2008: anger in the Sunni Arab community over perceived ill-treatment by the Shiite-led authorities and security forces.
Today's violence, which left more than 100 people wounded, struck the Baghdad area and predominantly Sunni Arab towns and cities to the north, but the deadliest of the attacks hit the capital.
A series of bombings -- two car bombings and a roadside bomb -- went off between 4:00 pm (1830 IST) and 5:30 pm (2000 IST) in Baghdad and its outskirts, killing nine people and wounding 22 others, officials said.
The blasts struck a variety of neighbourhoods across the city, and were the latest in a burgeoning trend of militant attacks in the afternoon and evening in Baghdad.
In previous years, deadly attacks have typically struck during the morning rush-hour when much of the capital is in gridlock.
Along with the spate of blasts, two other bombings in Baghdad killed nine and wounded 29.
Attacks also struck Diyala, Salaheddin and Nineveh provinces to the north of the capital.
The worst hit the confessionally-mixed city of Baquba, capital of Diyala, where 17 people were killed in all.
A car bomb in a market area on the western outskirts of the city killed 11 people and wounded 34 others, while a bombing at a Shiite Muslim wedding in central Baquba killed five people and wounded eight others.
Earlier, explosions against the home of a recently-returned family that had been displaced within Iraq killed a child and wounded nine other members of the family.
