Bombs near five Shia mosques killed at least 28 people across Baghdad on Friday, says the Reuters news.
More than 130 people were injured when the six apparently co-ordinated bombs struck five Shia mosques when worshippers were leaving after Friday prayers, the BBC reports.
Ban Ki-Moon, the UN Secretary General condemned the attacks, saying targeting places of worship was unjustifiable.
The Iraqis blamed local forces are now taking over from US soldiers for failing to protect them, says the Reuters news.
The Friday attacks was one of the deadliest attacks in recent weeks, and also ironically, they came just days after US defence secretary Robert Gates said, during a visit to Iraq, that the secretary situation there had improved “amazingly” in the past three years, says the BBC.
He also said the US might be able to withdraw troops a little quickly than planned.
The attacks took place within a short period of time at mosques in northern, eastern and south-eastern Baghdad.
The deadliest attack struck a mosque in Shaab area of the Northern Baghdad, killing at least 23 people and wounding about 107.
At least four people died in almost simultaneous twin blasts near Rasoul mosque at Diyala Bridge in the southern part of the city, while 17 were injured, according to the BBC.
The UN chief Mr Ban condemned the attacks and said: “Attacks against places of worship cannot be justified any political or religious cause. These attacks appear to be aimed at provoking sectarian strife and undermining stability in Iraq.”
Witness told the AFP news agency the worshippers had previously suspected about a parked car, and tried to warn local security forces, but were assured the vehicle was safe.
The car then exploded minutes later, and witnesses said the explosion panicked local policemen who began firing their guns randomly, which caused three of the deaths immediately, said the BBC.
Now the explosions have strengthened Iraqis concerns that their police forces are unable to offer adequate security that US forces once offered to the locals.
However, the BBC continues, Iraqi casualties in bomb attacks have dropped substantially since June, 437 people died in the run-up to the US pullback of forces in June, while 306 people died in July.
Iraqi Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani defended the record of the local Iraqi forces when asked by journalists about the attacks in Baghdad.
He said: “The difference between the past security situation and the current one is like that between night and day.”
US officials say Al Qaeda and other Sunni insurgent group, most active in ethnically mixed areas north of Baghdad, the Reuters news reports.
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