49 people have been killed and 134 others wounded in violent attacks across Iraq. The deadliest attacks came in the capital Baghdad, where a wave of bombings hit mainly Shiite commercial areas and killed 46.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks, but suicide and large-scale bombings - especially against security forces or crowded markets - are a favourite tactic of al-Qaeda’s local branch and Sunni insurgents.

Elsewhere, the chief bodyguard of Iraq’s president was shot dead. Unidentified gunmen broke into his home in the northern semi- autonomous region of Kurdistan, and shot him three times in front of his wife. Iraqi authorities launched an investigation into the motive behind the attack.