At least 66 people have been killed in a series of bomb explosions in Iraq.
More than 230 people were also injured in the blasts in 17 cities across the country.
Forty people died in the southern city of Kut in twin blasts in a public square.
A roadside bomb exploded in Kut, a mainly Shia Muslim city 150km southeast of Baghdad, this morning. This was followed by a car bomb that exploded as security forces arrived on the scene.
Kut had been relatively quiet since August last year when a suicide bomber killed 30 policemen and destroyed a police station as the US military ended combat operations in Iraq.
Dozens more were killed in other bombings and attacks in other cities.
At least eight people died and 14 wounded when a suicide car bomber attacked a municipality building in the province of Diyala.
The attack happened in Khan Bani Saad, about 30km northeast of Baghdad.
Two suicide bombers attacked an Iraqi counter-terrorism unit in Tikrit, 150km north of Baghdad, killing at least two policemen and wounding six in a failed attempt to free al-Qaeda prisoners.
And in the southern city of Najaf, at least three people were killed and 19 wounded when two car bombs exploded.
Violence in Iraq has declined from its peak in 2006 and 2007, but attacks remain common. A total of 259 Iraqis were killed in attacks in July, the second-highest figure for 2011.
