The European Union's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton appealed for an end to Iraq's political stalemate on Wednesday, as she condemned the attacks that have rocked the country over the past few days, DPA reported.
Ashton "is concerned by the upsurge in violence in Iraq and condemns the spate of recent outrageous attacks in the country," her spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said in a statement.
"The EU stands by the Iraqi people and Catherine Ashton strongly encourages all political entities in Iraq to speed up the process of government formation in order to ensure stability and security in the country," Kocijancic added.
Iraqi officials said earlier Wednesday that a series of explosions from car bombs, suicide bombers and mortar attacks that had taken place the night before in the mostly Shiite neighbourhoods of Baghdad had killed 64 people and injured 360.
Two days earlier, at least 52 people were killed and more than 75 injured in the capital when Islamist militants seized a Christian church.