Iraq officials say new bombs go off in mostly Shiite areas of Baghdad; day's death toll at 33

Security forces inspect the scene of a car bomb attack in the Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, May 27, 2013. (AP / Khalid Mohammed)

BAGHDAD - Iraqi officials say several parked cars packed with explosives have detonated in mostly Shiite areas of Baghdad, killing at least 33 and wounding dozens.

The blasts are the latest violence in an unusually intense wave of bloodshed roiling Iraq.

Police and hospital officials reported deadly explosions in the largely Shiite neighbourhoods of Sabi al-Boor, Bayaa, Kazimiyah, Sadria and al-Maalif. Another bombing struck the busy commercial Sadoun Street in central Baghdad.

The officials providing the casualty figures spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to release the information.

Iraq has been hit by a wave of bloodshed that has killed more than 300 people in the past two weeks alone.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the attacks bore the hallmarks of al-Qaida's Iraqi arm.