A wave of bombings mostly targeting Shi'ite areas in and around Baghdad has killed at least 28 people as surging violence spurred concerns Iraq is falling back into all-out conflict.
The blasts on Sunday, including half a dozen car bombs, are the latest in a months-long rise in bloodshed that has forced the authorities to appeal for international help just months before the country's first elections in four years.
While officials have pointed the finger at al-Qaeda-linked militants emboldened by the civil war in neighbouring Syria, analysts and diplomats say the government has not done enough to address underlying domestic problems fuelling the violence.
At least 10 bombs exploded from around midday (0900 GMT) onwards across Baghdad, targeting mostly Shi'ite neighbourhoods.
They killed at least 28 people and wounded 90 overall, according to security and medical officials.
The deadliest of the violence hit the Amil and Bayaa neighbourhoods of southwest Baghdad, with separate bombings killing five people in each district.
Sunday's bombings came a day after attacks killed 16 people, nine of whom were shot dead at alcohol shops in Baghdad.
Violence in Iraq has reached a level this year not seen since 2008, when the country was just emerging from a brutal period of rampant sectarian killings.
