Iraqi capital hit by series of blasts

Nine bombings mainly targeting Shia-majority areas of Baghdad have killed at least 12 people, officials said, as Iraq suffers its worst violence in years.

The seven car bombs and two roadside bombs, which hit six different areas of Baghdad on Wednesday, also wounded more than 60 people, the sources told the AFP news agency.

The deadliest single attack was a car bomb in the Karrada district in central Baghdad that killed at least three people and wounded at least 10.

Police said at least four people and 15 were wounded at an outdoor market in the northern Shaab neighbourhood, according to the Associated Press news agency. 

Three people were killed and nine were wounded in the southeastern district of Zafaraniyah.

All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to talk to media.

Baghdad, one of the most frequently-targeted cities in the country, is hit by near-daily bombings and shootings.

Commercial areas are favourite targets for groups seeking to undermine government efforts to maintain security.

Iraq has been hit by a year-long surge in bloodshed that has reached levels not seen since 2008, driven by widespread discontent among the country’s Sunni Arab minority, and by the bloody civil war in neighbouring Syria.

Violence in Iraq has killed more than 1,790 people since January 1, according to AFP figures based on security and medical sources.