A string of bomb attacks on Sunday killed 31 people and wounded more than 100 at two Baghdad markets, interior ministry officials said.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the first attack took place just before dusk in southwestern Baghdad's 4th Shura neighborhood.

A parked minibus with explosives went off in the busy market, where residents were picking food for the meal that breaks the daily fast in the Muslim fasting holy month of Ramadan, they said.

The explosion killed 12 people and left 35 wounded. All the victims were civilians, and several shops also were destroyed in the blast, according to the officials.

The assault was followed by a twin blast which also targeted a market in the Karada district in central Baghdad. A car bombing and a suicide explosion in immediate succession killed 19 people and injured up to 72.

Violence still haunts Iraq though the U.S. military said the level of violence was at a four-year low. Militant groups still seem to be capable of stepping up large scale attacks.

(Xinhua News Agency September 29, 2008)