At least 160 people have been killed and another 257 wounded in a series of bomb blasts in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.
It is understood that six parked vehicles, each packed with as much as half a tonne of explosives, devastated streets in the Sadr City district in the east of the city.
The toll from the blasts is expected to rise. The attacks prompted authorities to impose an indefinite curfew on the city.
One of the explosions occurred in a crowded market, a regular target for Sunni militants in the sectarian conflict that has killed thousands over recent months in Iraq.
Minutes before the bombings, masked gunmen launched a raid on the Iraqi health ministry, trapping about 2,000 people inside the building.
About 100 masked insurgents clashed with guards and Iraqi soldiers, while deputy health minister Hakim al-Zamili remained inside the complex.
Shortly afterwards, up to 12 mortar rounds hit Aadhamiya, a Sunni enclave, in an apparent reprisal attack.
Leaders from all Iraqi main communities, including Shia Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, made a televised appeal for calm following the attacks.
Mr Maliki called for 'people to act responsibly and to stand together to calm the situation'.
