Two car bombs, one in a Baghdad Shiite neighborhood and the other targeting an Iraqi police convoy, have killed five people, according to authorities.

Police officials said that the deadlier of the two attacks occurred this morning in a commercial street in the al-Ameen district, killing four people and wounding 18 others. Several shops were damaged in the attack.

Another police official said one policeman was killed and two others were wounded after a car bomb struck a police convoy in the northern city of Mosul.

Two medical officials confirmed the casualty figures.

Violence has spiked in Iraq in recent weeks, raising fears of a return to widespread sectarian bloodshed.

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