Car bombs across Iraq killed at least 57 on Sunday, further inflaming tensions, while former President Saddam Hussein was hospitalized after a 16-day-long hunger strike.

Some 34 people were killed and about 70 wounded when a suicide bomber blew up his car in a busy market in Baghdad's eastern neighborhood of Sadr City on Sunday.

"A suicide bomber detonated his explosive-laden car at about 9:20 AM (05:20 GMT) at the Jamila popular market near the police station of Sadr City," an Interior Ministry source said.

Just two hours later, an explosive charge went off near the local city council in the same area, killing eight people and wounding 20.

Sadr City is believed to be the stronghold of the Mehdi Army loyal to radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and has been repeatedly targeted by bombing attacks.

In one of the bloodiest attacks, a powerful car bombing near a market in the area killed up to 60 and wounded 76 on July 1.

Elsewhere, at around midday, a car bomb killed at least 15people and wounded dozens of others near a courthouse in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk in northern Iraq.

Despite efforts made by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, such as a massive security clampdown in Baghdad and a national reconciliation plan aimed at curbing violence, the security situation has kept deteriorating in recent months.

The two-month-old new government is now under heavy pressure as Maliki left for Washington on Sunday for talks on reversing the country's chaotic trend.

Meanwhile, Saddam has been hospitalized due to a 16-day-longhunger strike, his trial's chief prosecutor said on Sunday.

Jaafar al-Moussawi told reporters that Saddam's health had been "unstable because of the hunger strike" and he was currently fed by a tube.

Moussawi also said that the former president might not be able to attend a court session due on Monday.

Saddam and three of his co-accused have started a hunger strike since July 7 in protest of a third death of their defense lawyers.

(Xinhua News Agency July 24, 2006)