Two hidden bombs exploded today on a football pitch, killing nine youths, as two mortars landed while another football match was underway, killing three children, police said.
The young men killed by the home-made bombs in Amil district of western Baghdad were aged between 15 and 25 years, said police 1st Lt Maitham Abdul Razzaq.
About an hour earlier, two mortar shells hit Abu Dshir residential area in Baghdad, one landing in a soccer field and killing three children below 15 years of age, said police Capt Firas Queti.
The other mortar landed on a house, injuring a couple and their child, he said.
Also today, police found 11 bullet-riddled bodies, showing signs of torture, in Suwayrah, 25 miles south of Baghdad, police Lt Fikrat Mohammed Hussein said.
Ten other people killed or found dead today in Iraq.
15 insurgents and three policemen were killed today in fighting near Madaen, south of Baghdad, Iraqi police said.
Insurgents fired rockets and mortars at Iraqi security forces in the town, 65 km (40 miles) from Baghdad, drawing a counter-attack, Police Lieutenant Colonel Hassan al-Dalfi said in a statement.
Four police officers and two civilians were wounded and 10 houses damaged in the fighting, he said.