Explosions rock several Shia neighborhoods in Iraq

A string of bombings in mostly Shia-majority cities across Iraq killed at least 42 people and wounded dozens, officials said, a grim reminder of the government's failure to stem the uptick in violence that is feeding sectarian tensions in the country.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the latest attacks on Sunday, but car bombs are frequently used by al-Qaeda's Iraq branch.

The group and other Sunni fighters often target Shia civilians in an effort to undermine the Shia-led government.

Al-Qaeda's ideology considers Shia Muslims heretics.

The deadliest of Sunday's attacks, which targeted mainly commercial areas and bus stations, was in the southern city of Hilla, about 60 miles south of Baghdad. Back-to-back car bombings hit an outdoor market there, killing eight people and wounding 22, a police officer said.

Two parked car bombs ripped through a commercial area in the city of Suwayrah, 25 miles south of Baghdad, killing five people and wounding 14. Two other car bombs exploded simultaneously in the city of Kut, 100 miles southeast of Baghdad, killing four and wounding 16.

In the nearby city of Samawah, 230 miles southeast of Baghdad, four people were killed and 13 wounded when two car bombs exploded.

Two other car bombs killed three and wounded 13 in the city of Diwaniyah, 80 miles south of the capital.

In the northern city of Samarra, two people were killed and 15 were wounded when a bomb targeted a gathering of mourners for some of the 17 people who were killed in a car bombing there on Saturday. Five other people were killed and 34 were wounded in other attacks in the southern city of Basra and the central towns of Mahmoudiyah and Madain.

In the western Baghdad neighborhood of Sadiyah, police said a bomb went off near a row of shops, killing two people and wounding nine others. Three others were killed in a blast near a soccer field in Baghdad's mainly Shia southeastern suburb of Nahrwan. Yet another bomb exploded in the western Amariyah neighborhood, killing two and wounding 10, police said. 

Medical officials confirmed the causalities. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

October has continued the recent trend of escalating violence in Iraq. More than 5,000 people have been killed since attacks began accelerating in April following a deadly security crackdown against a Sunni protest camp in the northern town of Hawija.

Wire services