BAGHDAD — A series of explosions across Iraq killed at least 26 people on Friday, continuing a spate of violence that has marked recent political turmoil and witnessed demonstrations now on seven consecutive Fridays.

The bombings come amid worsening sectarian tensions, with Sunnis and others saying that Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki and his political bloc are seeking to monopolize power before provincial elections in April.

In a bird market in Khadumiya north of Baghdad the Shiite majority city, twin car bombs exploded, killing 16 people killed and wounding 45 others, according to security and medical sources. That blasts fit the pattern of deadly attacks on markets on Fridays, when they are typically crowded with people.

“I come to the bird market each Friday to sell and buy birds,” Waleed Salman, 28, said from his hospital bed after he was wounded in his leg and back in the bombing. “I love birds as they are a symbol of peace, all we want is peace but we always find blood. I lost my birds and my people today.”