Iraqi officials say three car bomb blasts rocked central Baghdad Sunday,
killing at least 41 people and wounding more than 200 others.
The explosions targeted two sites, including areas housing the embassies of Iran, Egypt, Germany and Spain.
Police called the near-simultaneous blasts suicide car bombings, and
said they stopped a fourth bomb-rigged car from being detonated.
Sunday's attacks broke a period of calm in the Iraqi capital following the March 7 parliamentary elections.
Security officials had feared security could deteriorate as disputes
over election results continue and opposing factions work to create a
unity government.
The massive coordinated attacks bear resemblance to other bombings
targeting high-profile sites that have killed 400 people since last
August.
Police in Mosul said a separate bombing Sunday targeting a police patrol killed two people and injured at least 20 others.
On Saturday, Iraqi military officials imposed a curfew in the village
of Bou Saifi near Baghdad, where gunmen wearing military uniforms
killed at least 24 people a day earlier.
The Iraqi Interior Ministry has blamed al-Qaida for the slaying of men
and women who reportedly had connections to the pro-U.S. Awakening
movement, that helped U.S. and Iraqi forces fight al-Qaida.
Iraqi security forces detained at least 25 people in connection with the slayings.