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Waves of bomb attacks and shootings in north of Baghdad have killed at least 82 people, say security and medical officials.
Many of those killed were security forces – who appear to have been a prime target.
One of the worst-hit places was Taji, a Sunni neighbourhood some 20 km (12 miles) north of Baghdad, where at least 18 people were killed.
At least 112 people were wounded on one of the bloodiest days of the year.
Deadly car bombings hit Baghdad, and a government building in Sadr city was attacked. At least seven car bombs hit the northern oil city of Kirkuk.
Waves of bomb attacks and shootings in north of Baghdad have killed at least 82 people
Dhuluiya, Saadiya, Khan Beni-Saad, Tuz Khurmatu and Dibis were also said to have suffered attacks.
The security forces suffered badly in Monday’s attacks, with at least 15 Iraqi soldiers killed in a single attack on a base in Salaheddin province.
Police checkpoints were hit by car bombs, army bases were struck by mortar fire, and one policeman was even attacked in his home.
Those in Taji died in a string of explosions.
“What is the guilt of these poor people?” asked resident Ali Hussein.
“They are working to earn a living. It is a poor market and people were here to shop in this market when the blast happened. Why did this happen?”
It is the deadliest day in Iraq since 13 June, when another wave of bombings killed 84 people and injured nearly 300.
On Sunday bombings south of the capital killed at least 17.
Violence dipped in Iraq following the insurgency in 2006 and 2007, but sectarian violence has returned across the country in recent months amid worsening political tensions.
At least 237 people were killed during June, making it one of the bloodiest months since US troops withdrew in December.
Deadliest attacks in 2012:
• 3 July: At least 40 killed and many more wounded in series of attacks across Iraq
• 13 June: Wave of bombings kills 84 and injures nearly 300 in deadliest day since US troops withdrew last December
• 4 June: More than 20 people killed in bomb attack in Baghdad
• 20 March: At least 45 people die in series of co-ordinated attacks including car bombs in Kerbala city that kill at least 13
• 23 February: At least 55 people killed and hundreds injured in wave of bombings and shootings across the country
• 27 January: A suicide car bomb kills at least 32 and injures about 60 in predominantly Shia Muslim district of Baghdad
Norway is today commemorating one year since 77 people were killed and 242 hurt in gun and bomb attacks in Oslo and on the island of Utoeya.
Church services, a concert and other events are being held around Norway.
PM Jens Stoltenberg will lay wreaths and is expected to be joined by hundreds of people on Utoeya, including the families of those who were killed.
Anders Behring Breivik, who has admitted carrying out the two attacks, remains on trial.
Most of the dead were young activists with the Labour Party who had been staying on Utoeya as part of a summer camp.
Thousands of people are expected to gather in Oslo for a day of events, including a memorial service at the city’s cathedral.
Norway is commemorating one year since 77 people were killed and 242 hurt in gun and bomb attacks in Oslo and on the island of Utoeya
Jens Stoltenberg will lay a wreath at the site of the Oslo bombing at 09:30 and then travel to Utoeya to give a speech to Labour Party youth, before laying a wreath there at 18:45 – the time Anders Breivik was arrested a year ago.
In the evening there will be a national memorial concert with mainly Norwegian musicians.
Many of the buildings that were damaged in the bomb attack have not yet been fully repaired.
The prime minister’s office and the ministry of health buildings are still covered in plastic.
The attacks, regarded as the worst act of violence in Norway since World War II, sparked a national debate about the nature of tolerance and democracy in the country.
Anders Breivik, who has been on trial for three months, has tried to justify the attacks by claiming he was trying to stop Muslims from taking over Norway.
But the government, and much of the population, have actively promoted tolerance and openness to counter Anders Breivik’s views.
“I think that people thought it a bit naive to cling to these values of openness in a situation like that,” said Vegard Groeslie Wennesland, a Labour Party activist who survived the attack.
“But I think it’s more naive to think that brutal police, or more restrictive policies will bring you a safer society.”
Judges are to announce next month whether Anders Breivik is sane or insane, and therefore whether he will be given a long prison sentence or be sent to a secure psychiatric ward.
Several civilians and police officers have been killed in two separate explosions in the Syrian capital Damascus, state TV announced.
A broadcast described the blasts as “terrorist” attacks. Preliminary reports suggested vehicles packed with explosives had been detonated, it said.
It said intelligence and police buildings were hit and the cause was not known.
Details of the reports cannot be independently verified as access to Syria for journalists is restricted.
Dozens of people have been killed in bomb attacks in Damascus and the second city Aleppo in recent months, which the government also blamed on terrorists.
The opposition has accused the authorities of staging some of those incidents.
The latest blasts came two days after the first anniversary of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, which UN estimates say has left more than 8,000 people dead.
State TV showed pictures of charred bodies, burned-out vehicles and bloodstains on the streets.
It described one body as being that of a terrorist.
It said buildings housing the criminal police and aviation intelligence had been targeted.
Opposition sources also said security buildings had been hit.
Fresh anti-government protests were held on Friday in cities across Syria.
And there was a return of violence to the Damascus suburbs – the first significant fighting there since government forces imposed military control some weeks ago.
Clashes between rebel fighters and the army were reported in several other parts of the country.
President Bashar al-Assad insists his troops are fighting “armed gangs” seeking to destabilize Syria.
On Friday, UN and Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan renewed calls for an end to fighting and for unimpeded humanitarian aid for Syria.
Speaking to UN Security Council members, Kofi Annan said he was sending a team to Damascus to discuss setting up a new international monitoring mission.
The international community remains divided on Syria, with Russia and China both blocking UN Security Council resolutions on Syria and aid groups from 27 countries urging them to condemn the government’s use of violence.
But the two permanent members have backed Kofi Annan’s peace mission.
Two car bomb and suicide attacks killed at least 10 people and wounded another 15 in the northern Iraqi town of Tal Afar, according to police.
The car bomb exploded near a restaurant in Tal Afar centre. Minutes later, a man wearing an explosive vest blew himself up in a crowd of onlookers.
Tel Afar is not far from the Syrian border, just west of the city of Mosul.
Earlier, a car bomb reportedly killed two people and wounded seven in a western part of the capital, Baghdad.
There has been a rise in attacks in Iraq since US troops left in December, leaving more than 200 people dead.
The violence has come amid a marked deterioration in Iraq’s fragile political process, with the country’s most prominent Sunni Arab politician being sought by the authorities on terrorism charges.
At least 25 people have been killed in two bomb attacks targeting security forces compounds in Syria’s second city of Aleppo, state media report.
According to state television, the death toll included both civilians and members of the security forces and blamed “armed terrorist gangs” for the blasts.
There are conflicting reports about whether the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) was behind the attacks.
A spokesman appeared to confirm that it was, but another blamed the government.
Col Malik al-Kurdi, the FSA’s deputy leader, said it had been monitoring the activity of security forces personnel and members of the pro-government Shabiha militia inside a Military Intelligence compound and a riot police base in Aleppo on Friday morning.
“When they were gathering in a square to go to the mosques and repress demonstrations, two groups from the FSA targeted the two buildings with small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire,” he said.
“After violent clashes, there was an explosion inside the Military Intelligence building. At first we didn’t know what it was, but we think it was the regime trying to stop the operation of the FSA,” he added.
Another FSA spokesman, Col Mahir Nouaimi, told AFP: “This criminal regime is killing our children in Homs and carrying out bomb attacks in Aleppo to steer attention away from what it is doing in Homs.”
At least 25 people have been killed in two bomb attacks targeting security forces compounds in Syria's second city of Aleppo
Opposition activists also said the government was responsible, accusing it of trying to discredit the uprising. Suspicious activity by security personnel had been noticed shortly before the blasts, they added.
Syrian state TV broadcast images showing at least five corpses and mangled body parts.
A weeping TV reporter said the bomb targeting an intelligence building went off near a park, where people had gathered for breakfast and children had been playing.
Some children were killed in the blast, he said, holding up an inline-skate.
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At least 50 people have been killed and more than 70 have been injured in bomb attacks in southern Iraq and in the capital Baghdad.
Provincial officials said at least Shia pilgrims died in a suicide attack near the city of Nasiriya.
Earlier, Iraq’s Interior Ministry said at least 24 people were killed in blasts in Shia areas of Baghdad.
The attacks come amid a rise in sectarian tensions after the last US combat troops withdrew in December.
The head of the provincial council in Nasiriya, Qusay al-Abadi, said at least 30 pilgrims were killed and more than 70 injured in the attack near Nasiriya. AFP quoted the official Dhi Qar provincial website as saying the pilgrims were walking to the holy city of Karbala.
At least 50 people have been killed and more than 70 have been injured in bomb attacks in southern Iraq and in the capital Baghdad
The Baghdad attacks occurred during the city’s rush hour and the Interior Ministry says they targeted gatherings in of civilians in the Sadr City and Kadhimiya areas and injured at least 66 other people.
Unnamed officials told the AFP news agency that between 14 and 15 people had been killed when two car bombs exploded simultaneously in Kadhimiya at around 09:00. The Associated Press (AP) said 15 people died in the blasts.
Twelve people had earlier been killed when two bombs were detonated in Sadr City, AP reported officials as saying. It said the first was a motorbike bomb, which exploded near where labourers were gathering to look for work.
It quoted anonymous hospital officials as saying that 30 minutes later a roadside bomb exploded near a tea shop, killing one. AFP quoted security officials as saying nine people were killed and 35 wounded in the Sadr City attacks. Reuters put the toll at 10.
“There was a group of day labourers gathered, waiting to be hired for work. Someone brought his small motorcycle and parked it nearby. A few minutes later it blew up, killed some people, wounded others and burned some cars,” a police officer told Reuters at the scene of the first attack.
Iraq’s power-sharing government has been in crisis since an arrest warrant was issued for Sunni Vice-President Tariq al-Hashemi on terror charges two weeks ago. He has denied the accusations against him.
The al-Iraqiyya group, the main Sunni bloc in parliament, is boycotting the assembly in protest. It accuses Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, a Shia, of monopolizing power.
Tariq al-Hashemi is currently in Irbil in Iraqi Kurdistan, under the protection of the regional government, but Nouri Maliki has demanded that they give him up.
“Political leaders fight each other for power, and we pay the price,” Labourer Ahmed Khalaf told AFP at the site of one of the Sadr City explosions.
“How is it our fault if al-Hashemi is wanted, or someone else is wanted?” he asked. “Why should we pay instead of them?”
A series of bomb attacks in Nigeria, including two during Christmas Mass services at Catholic churches, killed 40 people and left many others injured.
The Islamist group Boko Haram said it carried out the attacks, including one on St. Theresa’s Church in Madalla, near the capital Abuja, that killed 35.
A second explosion shortly after hit a church in the central city of Jos. A policeman died during gunfire.
Three attacks in northern Yobe state left four people dead.
Two hit the town of Damaturu, and a third struck Gadaka. Yobe state has been the epicentre of violence between security forces and Boko Haram militants.
The Islamist group Boko Haram said it carried out the bomb attacks in Nigeria, including one on St. Theresa's Church in Madalla, near the capital Abuja, that killed 35
President Goodluck Jonathan, who is a Christian, said the attacks were an “unwarranted affront on our collective safety and freedom”.
The White House condemned what it described as “senseless violence” and pledged to assist Nigeria in bringing those responsible to justice.
Boko Haram – whose name means “Western education is forbidden” – often targets security forces and state institutions.
The group carried out an August 2011 suicide attack on the UN headquarters in Abuja, in which more than 20 people were killed.
Nearly 70 people have died this week in fighting between Nigerian forces and Boko Haram gunmen in the country’s north-east.
National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) spokesman Yushau Shuaibu told the BBC that the latest Abuja explosion had happened in the street outside the church.
He said the church – which can hold up to 1,000 people – had been badly affected by the blast.
Witnesses said windows of nearby houses had been shattered by the explosion.
Officials at the local hospital said the condition of many of the injured was serious, and they were seeking help from bigger medical facilities.
Police had trouble controlling the anger of local people.
Reuters reports that thousands of youths have erected roadblocks on the road from the capital to the largely Muslim north, and are being tackled by security forces firing tear gas.
One of the Damaturu explosions was a suicide car bomb attack on a convoy of the State Security Service.
In Jos, a blast close to the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Church was followed by gunfire that left one officer dead, government spokesman Pam Ayuba told Associated Press.
Two explosive devices found in a nearby building were disarmed as military were deployed to the site.
The attack in Jos, in Plateau state, could have even more serious consequences than the attack in Abuja.
The state lies in Nigeria’s so-called Middle Belt, between the mainly Muslim north and Christian south.
More than 1,000 have been killed in religious and ethnic violence in Jos over the past two years and our correspondent says there will be fears that the latest attack could spark wider conflict.
A string of bomb blasts in Jos on Christmas Eve 2010 were claimed by Boko Haram.
President Goodluck Jonathan said after the latest attacks: “I want to reassure all Nigerians that the government will not relent in its determination to bring to justice all the perpetrators.”
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At least 63 people have been killed and around 185 injured in a wave of apparently co-ordinated bomb attacks in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, according to officials.
The interior ministry told the BBC 14 blasts hit various locations, including al-Amil in the south and Halawi and Karrada closer to the centre.
The bombings are the worst in months – and follow the withdrawal of US troops.
They come amid fears of rising sectarian tensions as the unity government faces internal divisions.
It was not immediately clear who was behind the attacks.
However, analysts say the level of co-ordination suggests a planning capability only available to al-Qaeda in Iraq, which is a mainly Sunni insurgent group.
The bombs exploded as many people were travelling to work during the morning rush-hour.
Four car-bombs and 10 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were detonated, officials told the BBC.
A security spokesman in Baghdad, Maj-Gen Qassim Atta, said the attackers had not aimed at security targets.
“They targeted children’s schools, day workers and the anti-corruption agency,” he told the AFP news agency.
Raghad Khalid, a teacher at a kindergarten in Karrada, said “the children were scared and crying”.
“Some parts of the car bomb are inside our building.”
Smoke was seen rising over Karrada district, with ambulances rushing to the scene.
Another woman said her baby had been covered in glass.
“She is now scared in the next room. All countries are stable. Why don’t we have security and stability?” said Um Hanin.
Iraq’s year-old power-sharing government is in turmoil after an arrest warrant was issued for Sunni Vice-President Tariq al-Hashemi on terror charges.
The entire al-Iraqiyya group, the main Sunni bloc in parliament, is boycotting the assembly in protest. It accuses Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, a Shia, of monopolizing power.
Tariq al-Hashemi denies the charges. He is currently in Irbil in Iraqi Kurdistan, under the protection of the regional government, but PM Nouri Maliki has demanded that they give him up.
The last American troops departed from Iraq on Sunday, nearly nine years after the war that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.
President Barack Obama acknowledged that the situation was not perfect, but said the US forces were leaving behind “a sovereign, stable and self-reliant Iraq, with a representative government elected by its people”.
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