WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States on Monday condemned a series of attacks in Baghdad as well as the Kurdish town of Arbil as "detestable and disgraceful."

"The terrorists who committed those attacks are a shared enemy of the United States, Iraq and the international community," State Department spokesman Jen Psaki said.

Twelve car bombs, mainly targeting Shi'ite-majority areas in and around Baghdad, killed at least 47 people Monday, while at least three died in a blast against Sunni worshippers, Iraqi officials said.

The bombings were the latest in a string of sectarian attacks in central Iraq that have raised the specter of a return to the intense Sunni-Shi'ite violence that peaked in 2006-2007 and killed tens of thousands of people.

Monday's violence also came a day after a rare attack in Arbil - the usually quiet capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region - which killed seven security forces members and wounded more than 60 people.

"These attacks, especially an attack inside a place of worship, are detestable and disgraceful and expose the nature of those perpetuating these attacks," Ms Psaki said.

She added that the United States stands "with the Iraqi people against this violence and in our commitment to support efforts to bring those responsible for these attacks to justice."