Car Bombs Target Baghdad, Hilla

Municipal workers clean the site of a bomb attack in Baghdad's Karrada district, Feb. 18, 2014.

Car bombs hit the Iraqi capital Baghdad and the southern city of Hilla on Tuesday, killing at least 23 people, police and hospital sources said.

The deadliest attack took place in the predominantly Shi'ite Muslim district of Bayaa in Baghdad, when a bomb inside a parked vehicle exploded near a bus station, killing five and wounding 24, the sources said.

In Hillah, about 100 kilometers to the south, three car bombs went off in different areas of the city. More deadly bombings struck nearby towns. Police put the initial death toll from seven car bombs at nine dead and more than 30 wounded.

Iraq has been experiencing its worst violence in recent years. Last month, an estimated 1,000 people were killed in car bombings and shootings.

Some information for this report provided by Reuters.