Baghdad, Feb 18 (IANS): Up to 21 people were killed and 125 wounded in a series of bomb attacks in the Iraqi capital city of Baghdad Sunday, while four others were killed during a gunfire attack in Mosul city.

In Baghdad, a spate of car bombs and roadside bombs struck crowded marketplaces and parking lots at the mainly Shiite districts with the aim of causing heavy casualties among residents, Xinhua reported.

The attacks occurred around 11.00 a.m. when three car bombs went off in Sadr City district, two car bombs hit Al-Husseiniyah district, and one in Al-Ameen, Kamaliyah and Saidiyah districts each.

Two more roadside bombs ripped through Palestine Street and the district of Karrada in central Baghdad.

The attacks killed 21 people and wounded 125 others, the interior ministry said.

An officer in the provincial intelligence department was killed in the morning by three gunmen in front of his house in Mosul city, capital of Nineveh province which has long been a stronghold of insurgent groups, including Al Qaeda militants.

But an Iraqi army patrol close to the scene, chased the attackers and killed all of them following a clash, a source said.