Two dead in Baghdad violence

A bomb hidden in a pile of rubbish has killed two people in northern Baghdad.

A bomb hidden in a pile of rubbish has killed two people in northern Baghdad.

The explosion comes a day after a series of bombings targeted government buildings in Baghdad, killing at least 127 people and wounding more than 500.

A police official said the blast occurred today at about 8am as street sweepers were cleaning in the Sunni neighborhood of Azamiyah. He said two street sweepers were killed and three passers-by were wounded.

Legislators have called top security officials to appear in parliament to answer questions over security lapses.

Meanwhile, funerals are being held today for many of the victims of yesterday's bombings in Baghdad.

At least 127 people were killed in a wave of coordinated attacks that targeted high-profile symbols of Iraqi authority yesterday.

The bombs - at least five in total - marked the third major strike on government sites since August and brought uncomfortable questions for Iraqi leaders. These include signs al-Qaeda in Iraq is regrouping and concerns over the readiness of Iraqi forces to handle security alone as US forces depart.

The bombings also brought swift accusations about the motives behind the attacks. Officials claimed a Sunni insurgent alliance, including members of Saddam Hussein's banned Ba'ath Party, seeks to undermine the pro-Western government ahead of elections set for March 7th and the later withdrawal of US combat forces.

Authorities also faced angry questions about how bombers again found holes in Iraqi security.

The attacks began with a suicide strike on a police patrol. An hour later, four more explosions rumbled across Baghdad in the span of a few minutes. Suicide car bombings hit three sites: the main Appeals Court, an area outside the Finance Ministry and a government compound that includes the Labour Ministry. A roadside bomb also went off near a university.

Iraq's Health Ministry reported at least 513 people were wounded.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility. However, multiple bombings are a hallmark of al-Qaeda. The past two major strikes on Iraqi government sites were coordinated blasts in August and October that took more than 255 lives. Sunni groups linked to al-Qaeda eventually issued statements saying they carried out the attacks.

Iraq's government, however, has tried to cast blame on Saddam loyalists - even parading three suspects on national television who gave what officials termed confessions for the October attacks.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government has pointed to the sharp drop in overall violence around Iraq as one of its main achievements going into the elections. Any hints of instability could cost them at the polls.

In Washington, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs condemned the attacks, saying Iraqi leaders who passed an elections law this week were moving the country in the right direction and "there are clearly those who are threatened by that."

In a joint statement, US Ambassador Christopher Hill and General Raymond Odierno, the top commander in Iraq, pledged to assist the Iraqi government "to bring to justice those individuals or groups for such murder."

Other statements decrying the attacks poured in from around the world.

One stood out: Neighboring Syria said it "strongly condemns the terrorist bombings." Iraq's relations with Syria have soured recently after accusations by Baghdad that the Damascus government harbours Ba'ath Party exiles who have masterminded and waged attacks in Iraq.

The United Nations Security Council condemned the attacks "in the strongest terms," underlining the need to bring the perpetrators and sponsors to justice.

The bombings marked the most serious spate of violence in Baghdad since twin car bombs on October 25th struck outside Baghdad administration offices, killing at least 155. In August, four suicide truck bombers hit the finance and foreign ministries, killing more than 100.