Iraq cities targeted in deadly bomb attacks Published duration 14 July 2013

image caption There has been a resurgence of violence recently

A series of bomb attacks across Iraq on Sunday left at least 34 people dead, according to police and medics.

As the sun set before the iftar meal, ending the day-long Ramadan fast, co-ordinated blasts in primarily Shia towns killed some 28 people.

Earlier, bombings in the northern city of Mosul left six people dead.

More than 2,500 Iraqis have died in violent attacks since April, according to UN figures, putting violence at its highest level since 2008.

The recent surge in attacks comes amid heightened tensions between Iraq's Sunni and Shia communities, and claims by the Sunnis that they are being marginalised by Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's Shia-led government.

The largest explosion on Sunday happened near the headquarters of a political party in the southern city of Basra, killing eight people.

Other bombings hit a mosque in the town of Mussyab and a market in Nasiriya, as well as targets in the holy city of Karbala.

On Saturday, at least 21 people died in bomb attacks on two Sunni mosques in the capital, Baghdad.