A wave of car bombings, mainly targeting cafes and markets around the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, killed 69 people on Saturday as they were out celebrating the end of Ramadan.

The death toll in the attacks is the highest since 20 July, when assaults on two prisons near Baghdad plus other attacks left 71 dead.

Violence has been on the rise across Iraq since a deadly crackdown by government forces on a Sunni protest camp in April, and attacks against civilians and security forces spiked during Ramadan. The surge of attacks has sparked fears that the country could spiral into a new round of widespread sectarian bloodshed similar to that which brought the country to the edge of civil war in 2006 and 2007.

Police said the deadliest of Saturday's attacks took place when a suicide bomber drove his explosive-laden car into a residential area in the town of Tuz Khormato, killing eight people and wounding dozens. The town is about 130 miles (200km) north of the Iraqi capital.

Police said a car bomb exploded near an outdoor market in Baghdad's south-eastern suburb of Jisr Diyala shortly before sunset, killing seven people and wounding 20.

Also in south-eastern Baghdad, officials said a car bomb went off inside a parking lot in the mainly Shi'ite New Baghdad neighborhood, killing three.

Another car bomb exploded in a busy street in the Shi'ite neighborhood of Amil, killing three and wounding 14.

In the holy Shi'ite city of Karbala, police said four people were killed in a car bomb attack near a cafe, while four more were killed and 15 wounded when a bomb exploded in Baghdad's Shi'ite neighborhood of Abu Dashir.

There were other attacks in the areas of Khazimiyah, Baiyaa, Shaab, Husseiniyah and Dora, all neighbourhoods of Baghdad.

Police officials said that all those attacks took place within an hour. Security forces and Shi'ites have been favorite targets for insurgents.

Iraqi security forces have stepped up patrols and checkpoints to protect people during the Eid al-Fitr celebrations that mark the end of Ramadan. This year's Ramadan saw the most violence since 2007, with at least 671 people killed.