Four US soldiers and an interpreter were also killed when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb northwest of the capital, the US military said.
In the deadliest attacks, a car bomb in a busy commercial street in the capital's central Waziriyah neighborhood killed at least seven people.
Seven people from the same family died in a drive-by shooting of a minibus, part of a wave of violence that has underscored the need for a permanent government and strong leadership in the defence and interior ministries.
Although prime minister-designate Nuri al-Maliki said on Wednesday he would submit his cabinet line-up for approval by parliament on Saturday, political groups have shown continuing discord.
New names for the coveted security ministries were being floated four days ahead of a constitutional deadline for the cabinet's formation.
Sources close to Mr Maliki told news agency AFP that two ex-generals have been added to a list of five other candidates for the defence and interior ministries.
Baraa Najeeb al-Rubaie, a Sunni in the running for the defence post, fled Iraq in 1991 and joined Iyad Allawi's anti-Saddam organisation composed largely of former military men.
Nasser Daham Fahad al-Amri, a possible candidate for the interior ministry, is from the Shiite Al-Bu Amr tribe, which has good relations with Sunni tribes north of Baghdad.
Independent Shiites Ahmed Chalabi, Washington's former protege, and Qassem Daoud, an ex-national security minister, are two other candidates for the interior ministry, Shiite deputy Hassan al-Sunaid told AFP.
The names of Sunnis Hashem al-Hasni, the former parliament speaker, former industry minister Osama al-Najafi, and the current defence minister, Saadun al-Dulaimi, have also been voiced as potential heads at defence.
Kidnap claimed
Meanwhile an Islamist group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of an Emirati diplomat in Baghdad and called on Abu Dhabi to close its mission in Baghdad within 24 hours, al-Jazeera television said as it showed a video of the hostage.
The previously unknown Banner of Islam group called for "the closure of the Emirati embassy in Baghdad and the closure of the (Iraqi) television station Al-Fayhah which broadcasts from Dubai, two conditions for the liberation of (Naji Rashid) al-Nuaimi" the channel quoted a statement as saying.
The kidnappers set "a 24-hour deadline" to comply, the Doha-based channel said, showing a brief video of an unshaved man who appeared to be Mr Nuaimi looking tired and wearing a traditional grey robe.
The diplomat was snatched on Tuesday while visiting his embassy's cultural annex in the upscale Baghdad Sunni neighborhood of Al-Mansur.
Leading Sunni Arab politician Adnan Dulaimi called for Nuaimi's release, saying "This diplomat has done much work for Iraq and the people of Iraq."
The UAE is in touch with the Iraqi government and political groups in a bid to secure his release.