BAGHDAD (AFP) - Five car bombs during morning rush hour in a southern Iraqi city and a town north of Baghdad on Monday killed six people, officials said, just days before the country's first elections since 2010.

Three car bombs that went off minutes apart in Tuz Khurmatu, a disputed town north of the capital, killed six people and wounded 60, while two other vehicles packed with explosives exploded in Nasiriyah, wounding 14 people.

In Tuz, which lies 175 km from Baghdad, the three car bombs struck in the centre and east of the town at around 8:00 am (1pm Singapore), according to a provincial council member and a doctor.

And in Nasiriyah, 305 km south of the capital, one of the car bombs detonated in a market and the other went off in an area filled with vehicle repair shops, police and a medical source said.

The credibility of the April 20 vote has been drawn into question as 14 election hopefuls have been murdered and just 12 of the country's 18 provinces will be taking part.