Several bomb attacks across Iraq have left as many as 20 people dead and more than 70 wounded.
The deadliest attacks Sunday struck in Baghdad, where a wave of evening bombings targeted civilians in Sunni and Shi'ite neighborhoods of the capital.
The explosions are part of recent attacks timed to go off in the evening as Iraqis mass at public meeting places, with restaurants, cafes, and football pitches hit as violence has surged.
Early Sunday, militants attacked a local leader of pro-government, anti-al-Qaida Sunni militia in his house in the town of Madain, 20 kilometers south of Baghdad, killing his brother. Police said two militants were killed in the clash and two others were wounded.
The bloodshed across the country was the latest in a surge of violence that has forced Iraq to appeal for international help in combating militancy just months before its first general election in four years.
The deadliest attacks Sunday struck in Baghdad, where a wave of evening bombings targeted civilians in Sunni and Shi'ite neighborhoods of the capital.
The explosions are part of recent attacks timed to go off in the evening as Iraqis mass at public meeting places, with restaurants, cafes, and football pitches hit as violence has surged.
Early Sunday, militants attacked a local leader of pro-government, anti-al-Qaida Sunni militia in his house in the town of Madain, 20 kilometers south of Baghdad, killing his brother. Police said two militants were killed in the clash and two others were wounded.
The bloodshed across the country was the latest in a surge of violence that has forced Iraq to appeal for international help in combating militancy just months before its first general election in four years.
