Attacks in central Iraq kill at least 44 people, officials say

The deadliest attack was at an Iraqi military base north of Baghdad when militants armed with mortars and small arms struck, killing at least 15 soldiers, according to the officials.

At least three people, according to the officials were wounded in the brazen attack on the base in the town of Dhuluiya, a one-time stronghold for Sunni supporters of former dictator Saddam Hussein about 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Baghdad.

While overall attacks have dropped off in Iraq since the height of violence in 2006, insurgents have routinely targeted Iraqi security forces and civilians.

The attacks come amid a political tug-of-war between Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and the Sunni minority, raising fears that the violence is a precursor to the return of sectarian violence that nearly tore the country apart at the height of the war in 2005-2006.

A series of explosions rocked the disputed, oil-rich city of Kirkuk, with three car bombs and five roadside bombs exploding in various locations, killing five people and wounding 19, the officals said.

In the Sunni-dominated province of Diyala, a motorcycle rigged rigged with a bomb exploded at an outdoor market in Muqdadiyah, killing two people and wounding 11.

In a separate attack Monday, a series of bombings targeted a residential area in Taji, on the northern outskirts of the Iraqi capital, killing at least seven people and wounding 28, the officials said. The blasts included a car bomb and three roadside bombs, they said.

Another car bomb went off outside government offices on the edge of Sadr City, a Shiite enclave in the capital, killing 12 people and wounding 18 others, the ministry said.

Sadr City is one of Baghdad's poorest neighborhoods and is home to more than 1.5 million people.

A third car bomb exploded outside a popular restaurant in al-Husseiniya, a predominantly Shiite suburb in northeastern Baghdad, killing three people and wounding 31 others, the ministry officials said.

In western Baghdad, a roadside bomb wounded three people, according to the officials.