A series of car bombs hit Baghdad's Shiite neighborhoods on Wednesday, killing at least 13 people according to officials.
Police officials speaking to the Associated Press (AP) said that four car bombs went off on Wednesday morning in the Iraqi capital, with one blast striking the Sadr City district, one in the Kazimiyah suburb, one in Shaab and one in the struggling Shammaiya neighborhood.
According to initial reports, the blasts also wounded 46 people.
Since 2013, violence has been escalating in Iraq. It is witnessing its highest rate of sectarian violence and deaths since the religion-fuelled blooshed of 2007.
On April 30, Iraq is to hold its first parliamentary elections since the withdrawal of U.S. troops in late 2011, according to AP. Current Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and others running in the race have been accused of failing to act in the face of the spread of violence in a bid to seem uncontroversial and garner more votes.
