Death toll from Baghdad blasts rises to 50 - police (UPDATED)

The toll from bomb and mortar attacks in quick succession near mostly high-profile targets in central Baghdad rose to at least 50 people killed and 300 wounded on Wednesday, police said, Reuters reported.

One blast was close enough to Iraq's parliament in the heavily guarded Green Zone government and diplomatic complex to shatter some windows, television footage showed. The blast was near Iraq's Foreign Ministry, just outside the Green Zone.

Other blasts were near the Finance Ministry and Baghdad's central governorate building, causing huge destruction.