A wave of attacks, most of them car bombs targeting Shiite neighbourhoods, rocked Baghdad today, killing at least 28 people in the latest bout of bloodshed to hit Iraq.
The violence, which also wounded more than 70 people, comes amid a protracted surge in bloodletting just months ahead of general elections that has forced Iraqi officials to appeal for international help in combatting the country's worst unrest since 2008.
At least eight explosions, including seven car bombs, went off mostly against Shiite Muslim neighbourhoods of the Iraqi capital, according to security and medical officials, from about 0430 GMT onwards.
They come after similarly coordinated bombings in Baghdad on Sunday evening left 21 dead, and pushed the overall death toll for November above 300.
Today's attacks occurred in areas ranging from the city's main commercial district of Karrada to the predominantly Shiite neighbourhood of Shaab, as well as Sadriyah, one of Baghdad's oldest districts.
One car bomb also went off in the Sunni-majority neighbourhood of Adhamiyah in north Baghdad, officials said.
The blast in Karrada struck near a car dealership as Shiites were gathering to mark the anniversary of the death of a venerated figure in Shiite Islam, when Sunni militants often step up their attacks.
"We were cooking and giving food on the anniversary of the death of Imam Hussein," said Ahmed Abu Ali, an employee of the Al-Baldawi car dealership.
"Many people were gathering at the dealership and suddenly a car blew up 20 metres away," said the 40-year-old, clad in a traditional black Arab robe.
"Even if they bombed us and tried to stop us, we will not stop commemorating the anniversary of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein."
Security forces imposed tough measures in areas hit by attacks, in many cases barring journalists from filming video or taking photographs at bomb sites.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the violence, but Sunni militants linked to al-Qaeda's front group often set off coordinated bombings across Baghdad, typically targeting Shiites, whom they regard as apostates.
In a separate attack in the normally-peaceful northern Kurdish city of Sulaimaniyah, gunmen assassinated Iraqi President Jalal Talabani's chief bodyguard, according to a police spokesman.
