Iraqi firefighters and volunteers search for survivors and victims 01 September 2006 amid the rubble of buildings hit by rockets the night before in the New Baghdad district

Iraqi search and rescue crews are pulling bodies Friday from destroyed buildings after a barrage of rocket and bomb attacks on Baghdad killed at least 64 people Thursday.

The attack, which officials say included explosives planted in apartments, wounded more than 250 people. The series of blasts went off for a half hour in mainly Shi'ite areas of the capital.

The coordinated attacks occurred during the intensified U.S.-Iraqi security clampdown across the capital aimed at stopping sectarian violence.

Earlier Thursday, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said he hoped Iraqi forces would be able to take responsibility for security for most of the country by the end of the year. He said the province of Dhi Qar will be handed over to Iraqi forces next month.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.