A series of attacks across Iraq killed more than 50 people and wounded nearly 250 others Sunday.
The violence hit more than 11 cities and targeted Iraqi security forces, police recruits and markets. There has been no claim of responsibility, but attacks targeting security forces are the hallmark of insurgents in Iraq.
Authorities say the deadliest attack took place near the southern city of Amara, where two car bombs killed at least 14 people.
Meanwhile, a Baghdad court sentenced the nation's Sunni vice president to death in absentia, in a decision likely to inflame political tensions.
The court found Tariq al-Hashemi guilty of running death squads against security forces and Shi'ites, a charge the vice president has strongly denied. Hashemi fled Iraq after authorities first leveled the charges against him. He currently is in Turkey.