A wave of apparently coordinated bombing and shooting attacks in seven different provinces across Iraq have killed at least 38 people and wounded more than 160, security officials said.
The attacks, which come amid heightened political tension, drew an accusation from the Sunni-backed Iraqiya bloc that security measures were insufficient.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, as head of the armed forces, was also accused of being responsible for the deficiency.
Twenty-three civilians, 10 police, three members of an anti-Qaeda militia and two soldiers were killed in dozens of attacks, including 14 separate car bombings, 13 other bomb attacks and three suicide bombings.
Bombings in and around Baghdad killed at least 17 people and wounded 101, an interior ministry official said.
A car bomb targeting Health Minister Majid Hamed Amin's convoy in Haifa Street in the heart of the capital killed two civilians and wounded nine people, including four of the minister's guards.
Four more car bombs and two roadside bomb in Baghdad killed nine people and wounded 62.
A spokeswoman for the Iraqiya bloc, Maysoon al-Damaluji, pointed a finger at Maliki for the weakness of security measures to prevent the bloodshed.
"The continuation of bloody explosions, although it has been already announced that tight security measures have been taken, reflects the weak security plans and the necessity to reconsider them," the MP said in an emailed statement.
"The commander of the armed forces (Maliki) is responsible for providing security and complete safety for citizens," she said.
Political tensions have risen sharply after key Iraqi factions accused Maliki of orchestrating a slide away from the electoral process and towards dictatorship with the arrest last week of election commission chief Faraj al-Haidari, who has since been freed on bail.
