The aftermath of one of a series of deadly bombings that rocked in Iraq on Sunday - targeting mainly police checkpoints..

At least eight people died and more than 20 wounded here in Taji 20km north of Baghdad when three parked cars exploded simultaneously.

It was Sunday's most deadly attack. This local man says he can't understand why bombers targeted the largely poor Shi'ites the Baghdad residential neighbourhood.

He lost a nephew and a friend in the Taji attack

At least another two more were killed when another car bomb went off outside this bakery in southwestern Baghdad.

In all, at least 17 people lost their lives Sunday.

That includes four police officers who were killed when a suicide bomber targeted this checkpoint in the city of Kut, 170kms southeast of Baghdad. The bomber blew himself up when asked to stop for a search.

Sectarian tensions remain high in Iraq, where a Shi'ite led government is battling political instability and a simmering Sunni Islamist insurgency.