A slew of eight bombings left at least 33 people dead and dozens wounded Monday, Iraqi police said. It was the worst wave of violence to hit Baghdad in days.
Iraq's parliament debated the deteriorating security situation in the capital and some of its outlying provinces, but failed to set up a commission to deal with the problem because of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's inability to appoint ministers of defense and interior.
"The deteriorating security situation is due to the fact that the interior and defense ministries are still unfilled posts," Shiite legislator Baha al-Araji said.
