At least 42 dead in fresh round of violence in Iraq

A series of attacks in Iraq on Sunday left at least 42 people dead, continuing a recent a surge in violence that authorities have failed to stem despite wide-ranging operations targeting militants. 

Blasts struck a variety of neighbourhoods across Baghdad and in predominantly Sunni Arab towns and cities to the north. A series of bombings -- two car bombs and a roadside bomb -- went off between 4:00 pm and 5:30 pm in the capital and its outskirts, killing nine people and wounding 22 others, officials said. Among those confirmed dead in the day of violence was an eight-year-old girl.

One of the worst assaults took place near the northern city of Mosul, where police say militants set up a fake security checkpoint, captured five soldiers and shot them dead.

Violence has spiraled in the country since a security crackdown in April on a Sunni protest camp. 

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has vowed to press on with an anti-insurgency campaign, which has reportedly led to the arrest of hundreds of alleged militants and the killing of dozens more.

Attacks on Sunday also hit the provinces of Salaheddin, Nineveh and Diyala to the north of Baghdad, security and medical officials said.

A series of bombings in the Diyala provincial capital -- including two targeting a Shiite wedding and the home of a newly-returned displaced family -- killed nine people and wounded 47 others.

Elsewhere, a car bomb near the town of Balad killed five people and wounded 21 others, among them a senior judge who was the apparent target of the blast.

In Nineveh, three separate attacks by gunmen left a soldier and two civilians dead, including a member of the Shabak minority.

The 30,000-strong Shabak community mostly lives near Iraq's border with Turkey.

They speak a distinct language and largely follow a faith that is a blend of Shiite Islam and local beliefs. Shabaks are frequently targeted in attacks by militants.

More than 3,000 people have been killed in violence during the past few months, raising fears the country could see an even deadlier, sectarian round of bloodshed similar to what brought the country to the edge of civil war in 2006 and 2007.

Al Jazeera and wire services