30 dead as Iraq rocked by wave of violence

160 people were wounded in the northern oil-rich hub of Kurkuk and the southern city of Karbala between 7:00am and 9:00am local time.

In Baghdad, a car bomb exploded in the parking lot opposite the foreign ministry, security and medical officials said, despite dramatically heightened security measures in the capital in preparation for the 27-29 March Arab League summit.

Tuesday's deadliest attack occurred in Karbala, home to the shrines of revered Shiite clerics Imam Hussein and Imam Abbas, where two roadside blasts at the entrance to the city killed 13 people and wounded 48, according to provincial health spokesman Jamal Mehdi.

A car bomb targeting a police office in the ethnically-mixed city of Kirkuk, killed nine policemen and wounded 42 people, the vast majority of them police.

A car bomb in the central town of Hilla, south of the capital, killed two people and wounded 31 others.

A car bomb set off by a suicide attacker in central Baghdad killed two people and wounded eight.

Another car bomb in Ramadi, capital of western Anbar province, killed two people and wounded 11, according to police and medical officials.

Separate gun and bomb attacks in Salaheddin province killed two people, including a city councillor, police said.

Bombings in the main northern city of Mosul, the refinery town of Baiji, and the northern towns of Daquq and Al-Dhuluiyah left 20 people wounded.

Officials insist Iraq's security forces are capable of maintaining security for the 27 - 29 March summit, but have admitted they may need to effectively shut down Baghdad to do so.

Violence across the country is down from its peak in 2006 and 2007, but attacks remain common. A total of 150 Iraqis were killed in February, according to official figures.