BAGHDAD, Iraq - A string of attacks in Baghdad, including two bombings near prominent government buildings, killed at least 95 people and wounded more than 530 Wednesday morning in the bloodiest day in the capital since the withdrawal of U.S. troops from cities.
The attacks happened in close succession late Wednesday morning. The two deadliest bombings targeted the finance and foreign ministries, which are among the most heavily guarded buildings in Baghdad, Iraqi authorities said.
Separately, at least six mortars rained down on two heavily transited locations in central Baghdad, Iraqi officials said. Three mortars targeted the Green Zone, the fortified enclave in Baghdad that contains the U.S. Embassy and many Iraqi government offices.
The bloodiest of the day's attacks was a bombing just outside the Foreign Ministry that killed at least 47 people and wounded 195, officials said. The massive blast, apparently from a vehicle packed with explosives, was particularly deadly because the government recently removed some of the concrete walls that the U.S. military had erected to protect against car bombs.
The explosion just feet from the ministry building, which is near the Green Zone and close to the Iraqi parliament, left a crater about 80 feet wide and 12 feet deep.
Maj. Gen. Jihad al-Jaberi, the head of the Baghdad bomb squad, said the bomb had two tons of explosives.
Deputy Foreign Minister Labid al-Bawi was among those wounded in the attack.
"I can't talk because I'm in bad physical condition," he said in a brief phone interview.
At the Finance Ministry, at least 28 people were reported killed and 96 wounded when another bomb, also possibly carried in a vehicle, exploded nearby.
The blast caused part of an elevated highway to collapse.
A third major bomb was defused outside Baytar Hospital, a government facility, he said. Television footage of that bomb showed the explosives were packed in a huge red water tank placed on the back of a pick-up truck.
In addition, there were casualties from at least two roadside bombs and two sets of mortar strikes.
Samira Hachem was cooking in her apartment across the street from the Foreign Ministry when the blast shattered her windows. She was wounded in the head by a piece of furniture.
"All these things landed on top of me," she said, sitting on a sidewalk, looking dazed, her head bandaged. "These terrorists. Many innocent people were killed."
Ghazim Mohammed, 54, sat nearby looking at the shattered building. Two of his sons work there, and he had not been able to reach them, he said.
"Until now we are still waiting for them," he said. "They've disappeared."
Maj. Gen. Qassim Atta, a spokesman for the Baghdad operations center, played down the significance of the attacks.
"What happened today was a security breach, and the security forces in these areas are responsible," he told the government-run Iraqia channel. "The satellite television networks are exaggerating this matter in an attempt to affect the political process. The situation remains under control, and the war against terrorism continues."
Iraq's top Shiite Muslim religious leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, issued a statement condemning the violence and calling on the security forces to do more to keep people safe.
The attacks came a day after Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, during a visit to neighboring Syria, hailed the readiness of Iraq's security forces.
Maliki asked Syrian officials to turn over former Baath Party leaders believed to be in that country. The former Baathists are accused of supporting the insurgency.
Maliki's government recently ordered the removal of blast walls along major roads. The area outside the Foreign Ministry is among those where security measures have been eased.
American explosives ordnance teams responded to both ministry bombings, and U.S. Apache helicopters could be seen hovering overhead.
Violence has increased in Iraq since the June 30 nominal withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraqi cities, primarily as a result of mass-casualty attacks in Baghdad and northern Iraq.
U.S. officials say the attacks are likely the work of Sunni extremists who want to undermine the Shiite-led government as U.S. troops draw down and as Iraq's Jan. 16 national election looms.
Special correspondent Qais Mizher contributed to this report.