Diyala province, a fertile agricultural region criss-crossed by canals where Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds live side by side, has long been one of the most volatile areas in Iraq. Monday’s bombings all took place after sunset in the provincial capital Baquba or towns and villages to the east.
A car bomb in the town of Balad Ruz, in a district occupied mainly by Shiite Kurds, killed one person and wounded 12 including four children police said. Balad Ruz is about 20 km east of Baquba.
A roadside bomb near a police station in Baquba wounded four policemen and 12 civilians, and another explosion 10 km to the east wounded three civilians.
Two bombs stuck to cars killed the drivers of the vehicles, one in Baquba and the other in a village 25 km to the east.
Violence in Iraq has subsided since the sectarian civil war that killed tens of thousands of people from 2006-07, but bombings and shootings still take place daily.
Most attacks have been blamed on Sunni Arab militants who have refused to lay down arms since US troops withdrew at the end of last year.
Iraq’s government is anxious to reinforce security ahead of an Arab League summit on March 27-29, the first to be held in Iraq in more than 20 years.
