At least 18 people were killed Wednesday and 40 wounded in a series of car bombings in Baghdad, police and witnesses said.
Markets in the Iraqi capital's al-Shaab and al-Tutji districts were among the areas targeted, police said.
There has been a sharp rise in attacks in Iraq in recent months, raising fears of a return to the violence that pushed the country to the brink of civil war in 2006 and 2007. According to UN estimates, 979 people were killed in attacks in October alone, dpa reported.