Iraqi authorities say car bombs in Baghdad and the northern city of Kirkuk killed 62 people Sunday.
They say the deadliest blast occurred in Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood when a bomb killed 34 near a busy market. A short time later, another blast killed eight more people outside a municipal building.
The bombings came hours after U.S. and Iraqi government forces raided the district and clashed with militiamen loyal to radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
To the north, a car bomb killed 20 people and wounded 50 others near a courthouse in Kirkuk Sunday.
On Saturday, Iraqi political and religious leaders met to discuss Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's national reconciliation plan to end sectarian violence.
After the meeting, Mr. Maliki said insurgents guilty of bloodshed should not be included in his proposed amnesty. Mr. Maliki will visit Washington Tuesday for talks with President Bush.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, Reuters.
