Four car bomb attacks and a mortar strike northern Baghdad killed 36 people and wounded 98 within a span of two hours Thursday afternoon, police and medical officials said.

Four car bomb attacks and a mortar strike northern Baghdad killed 36 people and wounded 98 within a span of two hours Thursday afternoon, police and medical officials said.

A suicide car bomb hit an army checkpoint near a restaurant in the northern district of Talibiya at 2:30 p.m., killing nine people; 45 minutes later, a pair of car bombs exploded in the district of al-Dawlai in western Baghdad, claiming the lives of 16 people and wounding 35 others.

Minutes later, five mortar rounds hit the neighbouring Shi'ite district of al-Shaoula, killing another five and wounding 21 others.

A final car bomb exploded in the nearby Hurriya district, leaving six dead and wounding 14 others.

Two car bombs near the frequently targeted district of Kazimiyah killed at least nine, while a suicide car bomb attack in Talbiya killed seven, a senior Baghdad police official said.

The double car bomb attack, in a neighbourhood called Dolai, also wounded 25 people. All the victims were civilians, said a hospital source who confirmed the casualty figures.

The bombing in Talbiya, near the sprawling northern neighbourhood of Sadr City, left at least 23 wounded.