At least 24 people have been killed in a series of attacks targeting Shia neighborhoods of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, and security forces’ checkpoints, officials say.
The officials said on Wednesday that 14 people were killed and more than 70 others injured by nine bombings that hit six different areas of the capital.
Another explosion near the University of Technology in central Baghdad left three people dead and several others injured.
Also in the town of Tarmia, north of the capital, at least four policemen and three army soldiers died when gunmen attacked their checkpoints.
Iraq has witnessed a surge in deadly attacks including bombings and shootings in recent months.
The latest incidents of violence came at a time when Iraqi troops, backed by local Sunni tribesmen, are fighting al-Qaeda-affiliated militants in the country’s western regions, including Anbar Province.
Iraq’s Interior Ministry has said that militants have launched an open war in Iraq and they want to push the Middle Eastern country toward chaos.
Official figures say some 1,013 people were killed in January alone, making it the deadliest month in Iraq since April 2008.
