At least nine people were killed and 49 injured on Sunday in a series of car bomb blasts across Iraq, amid a political stalemate in the country stemming from feuds between Shiite and Sunni politicians, dpa reported.
Five people were killed in two car bomb blasts in the Mahmoudiya area of south Baghdad. The blasts injured 10 people, police sources were quoted by the Alsumaria News website as saying.
"Security force cordoned off the scene, and transported the injured to a nearby hospital for treatment, and the bodies were taken to the forensic department. Security also carried out raids in search of the perpetrators," a policeman said.
In another area of southern Baghdad, three people were killed by a third car bomb in Madaen district, the source added. In the northern city of Mosul, one policeman was killed and 16 people were injured Sunday when a parked car exploded targeting police forces in the city, police sources told dpa.
Located some 400 kilometres north of Iraq, Mosul remains the scene of frequent shootings and bombings with its volatile ethnic mix of Sunni Arabs, Kurds and Christians.
Earlier on Sunday, a car bomb went off in the holy Shiite city of Najef, injuring 23 people. Violence in Iraq has dropped dramatically in recent years, but near-daily deadly attacks still take place.