Car bombs kill at least 23 in Baghdad and Iraqi city of Hilla

Bomb attacks hit the Iraqi capital Baghdad and the southern city of Hilla on Tuesday, killing at least 23 people, police and hospital sources said.

The deadliest attack took place in the predominantly Shi'ite Muslim district of Bayaa in Baghdad, when a bomb inside a parked vehicle exploded near a bus station, killing five and wounding 24, the sources said.

In the city of Hilla, three car bombs went off in different places, while four more car bombs exploded in nearby towns. Police put the initial death toll from seven car bombs at nine dead and more than 30 wounded.