At least 12 people were killed and 40 were wounded when a series of explosions struck the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, on Sunday, on the eve of the newly elected Iraqi parliament's opening session, Al Jazeera reported.
A total of 12 bombs have rocked the capital, Al Jazeera said, quoting local security officials. Those killed were employees at the Iraq Central Bank in Baghdad's Rasheed district, the officials said.
A bomb was reportedly planted at the entrance to a market near the bank. The explosion caused a local electricity substation to explode, the TV channel said on its website.
The opening session of the Council of Representatives is seen as a step towards a compromise between Iraqi rival politicians following a general election on March 7, Al Jazeera said.
The Iraqiya bloc, led by former prime minister Iyad Allawi, and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's State of Law Alliance both have failed to build a coalition government following the polls, in which Allawi's bloc gained 91 seats in the Council and al-Maliki's alliance won 89.
MOSCOW, June 13 (RIA Novosti)
