Officials say two car bombings in Iraq have killed nine people and wounded 27. Iraqi police say in the larger of the two attacks, seven people were killed and 20 were hurt in a car bomb explosion in Aziziyah town, 55 kilometers (35 miles) southeast of Baghdad.

Earlier on Tuesday, a car bomb went off targeting an army patrol north of Baghdad, killing two soldiers and hurting seven people with five of whom being civilians.

The attacks come a day after at least 55 were killed and 200 others injured in more than 30 attacks across Iraq.

With provincial elections scheduled to take place in five days (on 20 April), ongoing attacks and violence have surged in Iraq in recent weeks as the country is preparing to hold the first election since the withdrawal of the American military at the end of 2011.

As reports say, a total of 14 election candidates have already been murdered.

Iraq's provincial elections are due to be held in 12 of the country's 18 provinces and soldiers and policemen cast their ballots for the elections on Saturday, a week ahead of the main vote.

More than 8,000 candidates are running for 378 seats and an estimated 16.2 million Iraqis are eligible to vote.