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This picture taken on May 13, 2014 shows smoke billowing from the site of a car explosion in Baghdad's northern Shiite-majority district of Sadr City.

The attacks were the worst in unrest that left 25 people dead nationwide, part of a protracted spike in bloodshed as officials tally votes from Iraq's April 30 parliamentary election.

The authorities have blamed a variety of external factors for the violence, such as the civil war in neighbouring Syria, but critics say the Shiite-led government must do more to reach out to disgruntled minority Sunnis in order to undermine support for militancy.

In Thursday's deadliest attack, militants assaulted a court in central Baghdad, killing 10 people and wounding dozens. Twin suicide bombings, one of which involved an attacker setting off a car bomb, came minutes apart during morning rush hour in the commercial district of Karrada, near a crossroads that is the site of a hospital, a police headquarters and the court complex.

"What happened near the Karrada court was an attempt by terrorists to break into the court," said Baghdad security spokesman Brigadier General Saad Maan, adding that security forces had "foiled" the assault.

Maan also added that "we lost some security forces" in the first blast, and said the overall toll could have been higher still had security personnel not killed a third suicide attacker.

Ambulances rushed to the scene of the attacks as smoke rose above the city, while security forces closed off nearby roads, worsening already tight morning gridlock.

- Off-duty officers murdered -

Elsewhere in Baghdad on Thursday, a car bomb near a row of shops in a predominantly Shiite neighbourhood killed at least four people, while violence outside the capital left 11 dead.

In Salaheddin province, militants seized a vehicle transporting five off-duty army officers in civilian clothes and killed them, officials said.

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Iraq Militants Attack Baghdad Court, Kill Prisoners