Attacks left 97 dead and 237 wounded across Iraq today. The worst attack occurred south of Baghdad. Local officials blamed the attack on the situation in neighboring Anbar province. Militants still control sections of two major cities there and have staged attacks in nearby provinces.

In Hilla, at least 45 people were killed and 157 more were wounded when a suicide bomber driving a mini-bus filled with explosives attacked a crowded entrance to the city. Dozens of cars waiting to be inspected alongside the bus were set aflame, trapping many of the victims inside them. The building housing the checkpoint was partially demolished. A provincial deputy chairman blamed the attack on tensions in neighboring Anbar province.

Near Hilla, gunmen killed two policemen and wounded four more.

In Anbar:

In an around Falluja, shelling left six dead and 17 wounded, mostly women and children. Three soldiers were killed and four more were wounded. Two militants were killed.

Two militant leaders were killed and 14 more militants were wounded in Garma.

Two people were killed in shelling in Numaniya.

In Ramadi, clashes that recovered territory from militants killed or wounded a number of them. At least four soldiers were wounded in a clash. An I.E.D. killed a young man and wounded two others from a family that had fled Falluja. An entire apartment house was blown up but no casualties were reported.

A roadside bomb in Zaidan killed one soldier and wounded four more.

Elsewhere:

Four soldiers were killed in a small arms attack in Abu Ghraib. A bomb killed a soldier and wounded three others.

Gunmen targeting North Oil Company employees in Tuz Khormato killed three of them and wounded seven more.

In Mosul, gunmen killed a brigadier general. Two soldiers were shot dead at a checkpoint. A bomb wounded five people, including two civilians. Gunmen killed an intelligence officer.

A bomb targeting a female member of parliament wounded two bodyguards and nine bystanders in Mahoot.

A bomb in Arab Jabour killed two adults, one of them a Sahwa member, and wounded two children.

Two policemen were killed and two more were wounded in a Taji bombing.

A bomb in Khirbit Aziz killed a captain and wounded three others.

Security forces killed a suicide bomber in Tal Afar.

In Baghdad, the body of a government employee was found.

A civilian was shot dead in Madaen.

Six militants were killed in Kirkuk. Three more were killed in a southern suburb.

A gunman was killed when he attacked a Jurf al-Sakhar checkpoint.