Iraq violence: Baghdad bomb attacks leave 25 dead 29 May 2013 Last updated at 20:56 At least 25 people have been killed in a series of bomb blasts in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, local officials say. In the southern area of the city, 16 people were killed and some 40 injured in a car bomb explosion. Many victims were attending a wedding party. Another nine people were killed and about 15 injured in two bomb blasts in western Baghdad. The recent upsurge in violence across the country comes amid rising sectarian and political tension. The UN has said more than 700 people were killed in April - the highest monthly toll in almost five years. Despite the persistent violence, there have been intensifying efforts on both sides of the divide to prevent a return to civil war, observers say.