Bomb attacks and mortar shells have killed at least 34 people in mostly Shiiteareas in Iraq as violence rages on in the country, officials say.
The deadliest of Wednesday's attacks took place in the town of Numaniyah, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of the capital Baghdad, where a bomb exploded in a busy commercial area, which was followed by a car bomb that detonated as people gathered to help the victims from the first blast.
Five people were killed and 17 others were injured in the bombings, police officials said.
A car bomb in Baghdad's Nidhal Street killed four people and wounded 11 others, while five died in a car bombing in the Baghdad’s Kazimiyah district earlier in the day.
In the areas of Shaab, Shammaiya, Karrada, Maamil, and Sadr City, a total of 13 people were killed and 42 were injured by car bombs, the officials added.
Elsewhere in Baghdad, three civilians were killed and eight others injured after another car bomb ripped through the capital’s central commercial area of Jadiriyah.
Meanwhile, mortars fell on the village of Sabaa Al Bour, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of Baghdad, killing four civilians and injuring 13 people.
The attacks came as the country is heading towards an important election on April 30.
Iraqi troops, backed by local Sunni tribesmen, have been fighting Al Qaeda-affiliated militants in the country’s western regions, including Anbar province since late December 2013.
Iraq’s Interior Ministry has said that militants have launched an open war in Iraq and they want to push the Middle Eastern country into chaos.
