BAGHDAD (AFP) - A series of bombings mainly targeting Shi'ite areas in and around the Iraqi capital killed at least nine people on Sunday, security and medical officials said.

The three car bombs and one roadside bomb also wounded at least 27 others, the sources said.

The deadliest attack hit the Husseiniyah area near Baghdad, killing at least four people and wounding at least 10.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the blasts, but Sunni militants including those linked to Al-Qaeda frequently target members of Iraq's Shi'ite majority, whom they consider to be apostates.

Violence in Iraq has reached a level this year not seen since 2008, when the country was just emerging from a period of brutal sectarian conflict.

More than 300 people have died in attacks so far this month, and over 6,450 have been killed since the beginning of the year, according to Agence France-Presse figures based on security and medical sources.