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| Iraq deadly bombings hit Nasariyah, Kirkuk and Baghdad | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| At least 15 people have been killed and dozens more wounded in a series of early morning explosions in cities across Iraq, officials say. | |
| Attacks were reported in Baghdad, as well as Tuz Khurmatu and Kirkuk in the north and Nasariyah in the south. | |
| Three car bombs went off minutes apart in Tuz Khurmatu, killing six people and wounding 60, AFP news agency reported. | Three car bombs went off minutes apart in Tuz Khurmatu, killing six people and wounding 60, AFP news agency reported. |
| The latest attacks come ahead of Iraq's provincial elections on 20 April, the first in the country since 2010. | The latest attacks come ahead of Iraq's provincial elections on 20 April, the first in the country since 2010. |
| The explosions were caused by 14 cars packed with explosives and three roadside bombs, AFP reported. Seven cities were targeted during the morning rush hour, it said, including Samarra and Hilla. | |
| No group has yet claimed responsibility for Monday's attacks. | |
| But they come at a time when tensions are high between Iraq's Sunni and Shia, amid claims by the majority Sunni Muslim communities that they are being marginalised by Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's Shia-led government. | |
| Sunni Islamist militants linked to al-Qaeda have attempted to destabilise the government by stepping up attacks, mainly on Shia but also Sunni targets this year. | |
| Although violence has decreased in Iraq since the peak of the insurgency in 2006 and 2007, bombings are still common. |