Scores killed in explosions across Iraq

At least 48 people have been killed in explosions in Iraq capital Baghdad, Ramadi and Baiji in the latest series of attacks to besiege the troubled nation.

Two cars exploded in separate attacks in the southwestern Baghdad's Shia al-Ameen neighbourhood, killing seven people and injuring 21 others, a police source has said.

Hospital officials confirmed the casualties.

The bomb was triggered after the driver parked his car and went to a cigarette stall. The car then blew up, killing passers-by.

The second car bomb blew up south of Baghdad in the Shia neighborhood of Zafaraniyah, killing five people and injuring 15 others.

On Saturday, 14 people were killed and a further 39 injured after two other car bombs blew up in central Baghdad,

Another six people were killed and eight injured when explosives were detonated inside a house in Ramadi, west of the capital.

Authorities also announced on Saturday that a suicide truck bomber targeting a senior police officer's convoy in the town of Baiji killed eight people on Friday, including the ranking official.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which comes as US-led air strikes battle the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), who now controls a third of the country.

On Friday, US President Barack Obama authorised the deployment of up to 1,500 more American troops to strengthen Iraqi forces, including in Anbar province, where fighting with ISIL has been fiercest.

The plan could boost the total number of US troops in Iraq to 3,100. There now are about 1,400 US troops in the country, out of the 1,600 previously authorised.