Baghdad bomb blasts kill at least 26 people (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

Multiple car bombs exploded in mostly Shiite neighborhoods in Baghdad on Sunday, killing at least 26 people, according to Reuters.

The Associated Press reported at least 37 people were killed and more than 100 wounded.

No group claimed responsibility for the attacks, but Reuters, the BBC and the AP report Al Qaeda-linked Sunni insurgents are likely to blame. The AP says a group known as the Islamic State of Iraq is known for these kinds of large-scale, organized attacks.

Click here for video footage of the aftermath of the bombings. 

Jumaa Kareem, a Habibiya district salesman who witnessed one of the explosions, spoke with Reuters.

"I was buying an air conditioner and suddenly there was an explosion. I threw myself on the ground. Minutes later I saw many people around, some of them dead, others wounded," Kareem told Reuters.

Nima Khadum, a government employee who saw the blasts, spoke with the AP:

"The scene was a bloody one that brought to my mind the painful memories of the violent past," he said. "I don't see the benefit of security checkpoints that only cause traffic jams and don't do anything to secure Baghdad. The government, with its failing security forces, bears full responsibility for the bloodshed today."

The BBC reported Iraq's state-controlled al-Iraqiya TV said there were nine car bombs in total.

Sectarian violence has decreased since its height in 2006 and 2007, but deadly attacks in public areas still occur with some regularity. As Reuters points out, "More than 10 suicide attackers have struck security forces, Shiite targets and a Sunni lawmaker since the start of January."

Sunday's attacks follow the assassination of Ali Aouni, the head of Iraq's intelligence academy, who died in a suicide bombing in the northern town of Tal Afar. No group claimed responsibility for Aouni's murder.  

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