[4] In the months leading up to the 20 April provincial elections, the first since the withdrawal of US forces in 2011, tensions were high in Iraq as Sunni groups claimed they were being marginalized by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Shiite dominated government.
[3][5] A number of large scale attacks linked to the Sunni umbrella group Islamic State of Iraq were carried out in early 2013 in an attempt to destabilize the country ahead of the elections.
[6] The series of attacks began during the morning early rush hour and encompassed more than 40 incidents in and around 20 cities, the majority of them being car bombings.
[1][3] At least three car bombs exploded in Tuz Khurmatu, a city at 170 kilometres (110 mi) north of Baghdad, killing six and leaving 67 others injured.
A soldier was killed in another shootout with suspected insurgents, while 3 police officers and 2 civilians were injured in roadside bombings.
[1] A bombing at a local political office in Tikrit killed 4 and wounded 3 others, while a later blast at a checkpoint injured 13 policemen.
[1] A blast in Ad-Dawr also injured 13 people, while 7 others were wounded after a bombing at a politician's home in a village in Saladin Governorate.
[1] In the town of Tarmiyah, 50 kilometres (31 mi) north of Baghdad, gunmen shot and killed a police officer.
In Aziziyah, a city 75 kilometres (47 mi) south of Baghdad a car bomb killed at least four people on 16 April, and left 15 others injured.