Five police officers were among the 15 people killed Thursday when three car bombs exploded within 15 minutes of each other. At least 50 other people were injured in the blasts in the Karada neighbourhood of north-central Baghdad.

The first car bomb, parked on the street near a mosque, exploded at 7:10 a.m., CNN reported. It was likely remotely detonated.

A suicide car bomb exploded 10 minutes later near a fuel station in the Karada neighbourhood, targeting an Iraqi police patrol.

Five minutes after that bombing, a third car bomb detonated on the main street of the central shopping area of Karada.

The blasts followed Wednesday night's violence in Iraq's capital. At least 23 people died when four separate car bombs went off in the western part of Baghdad.

The targets included two restaurants in a largely Sunni neighbourhood, where 11 people were killed, and a bus station, where eight people died.

The fourth bomb was aimed at an Iraqi army patrol, though no soldiers died in the attack. The victims were a child, a woman and two civilian men.