A wave of car bombings tore through mostly Shiite Muslim neighbourhoods of the Baghdad area today afternoon, leaving at least 57 dead in the latest outburst of an unusually intense wave of bloodshed roiling Iraq.
The blasts are the latest indication that Iraq's security is rapidly deteriorating as sectarian tensions exacerbated by months of Sunni-led anti-government protests and the war in neighbouring Syria are on the rise.
Iraq has been hit by a wave of bloodshed that has killed more than 300 people in the past two weeks alone.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Monday's bloodshed, but the attacks bore the hallmarks of al-Qaeda's Iraqi arm.
The group, known as the Islamic State of Iraq, frequently uses car bombs and coordinated blasts in an effort to undermine Iraqis' confidence in the Shiite-led Government.