It was the deadliest day in Iraq since March 20, when shootings and bombings claimed by an Al-Qaeda front group, the Islamic State of Iraq, killed 50 people and wounded 255 nationwide.

The attacks, which come amid heightened political tension, drew an accusation from the Sunni-backed Iraqiya bloc that security measures were insufficient, and that Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, as head of the armed forces, was responsible for the deficiency.

Twenty-two civilians, 10 police, three members of an anti-Qaeda militia and two soldiers were killed in dozens of attacks, including 14 separate car bombings, 13 other bomb attacks and three suicide bombings.

Bombings in and around Baghdad killed at least 17 people and wounded 101, an interior ministry official said. A car bomb targeting Health Minister Majid Hamed Amin's convoy in Haifa Street in the heart of the capital killed two civilians and wounded nine people, including four of the minister's guards.

Four more car bombs and two roadside bomb in Baghdad killed nine people and wounded 62.

In Taji, north of the capital, two roadside bombs, two car bombs and a suicide bombing killed six people and wounded 29, and a suicide bomber in Tarmiyah, also north of Baghdad, blew up a vehicle by an army base, killing one soldier and wounding six.

In Mussayib, in Babil province, an army major and four other soldiers were wounded by a roadside bomb, a police major said. In northern Iraq, bombings in Kirkuk province killed nine people and wounded 24, high-ranking police officers said.

A car bomb against the convoy of police Brigadier General Taha Salaheddin south of Kirkuk city killed two police and wounded 15 other people. Another car bomb in the city centre killed two police and wounded three, a high-ranking police officer said on condition of anonymity.