NNA - Violence across Iraq, including a spate of evening bombings against markets and cafes in Baghdad, killed at least 26 people and a dozen militants, officials said Monday, AFP reported.



The attacks on Sunday were the latest in a protracted surge in violence that has forced Iraq to appeal for international help in combating militancy just months before its first general election in four years.



The deadliest attacks struck in Baghdad, where a wave of evening bombings targeted civilians in both Sunni and Shiite neighborhoods of the capital.



From the evening onwards, four car bombs and three roadside bombs hit areas ranging from the Shiite slum neighborhood of Sadr City in northeast Baghdad to the western Sunni suburb of Radhwaniyah.



A car bomb also went off in the center of the capital, while blasts also struck a market in south Baghdad and a cafe in the north.



Overall, at least 21 people were killed and more than 60 wounded, according to security and medical officials.



The explosions are part of a months-long trend of attacks timed to go off in the evening as Iraqis mass at public meeting places, with restaurants, cafes, and football pitches all hit as violence has surged.



No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bloodshed, but Sunni militants linked to al-Qaida often set off coordinated bombings across Baghdad, ostensibly in a bid to undermine public confidence in the Shiite-led government.



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