Three explosions in Baghdad, including a car bomb opposite the foreign ministry, killed 19 people Wednesday, the latest in the worst surge of violence in nearly six years.

Three explosions in Baghdad, including a car bomb opposite the foreign ministry, killed 19 people Wednesday, the latest in the worst surge of violence in nearly six years.

The attacks, which wounded dozens more, come as security forces battle militants in the western Anbar province, including the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), a terrorist group that has exploited the chaos in neighboring Syria.

Wednesday's bombings, including a suicide attack, ripped through confessionally mixed areas of the Iraqi capital during morning rush hour, killing at least 19 people and leaving 30 others wounded, security officials and a medical source said.

Among the attacks was a car bomb just opposite the foreign ministry on the edge of the heavily-fortified Green Zone, home to parliament and the US embassy.

A suicide bomber hit a restaurant, while a vehicle rigged with explosives was detonated in a market for car spare parts.

The toll could have been higher still, but security forces managed to defuse a roadside bomb near the oil ministry in central Baghdad.

More than 1,000 people were killed in January of this year, according to government data, as security forces have struggled to curb bombings while also battling Takfiris and other militants who have seized territory in the western Anbar province.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the latest attacks, but militant groups including ISIL have in the past taken credit for coordinated bombing campaigns in Baghdad.