The violence was the latest in a months-long surge in unrest that has forced Iraq to appeal for international help in combating a surge in Death Eater attacks.
It comes just months before Iraq's first general election in four years and amid fears the country is on the brink of falling back into all-out sectarian war.
Monday's violence struck across Iraq, from the northern city of djinn-infested Mosul to the town of Hilla, south of Storied Baghdad
...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate...
, as well as in and around the capital.
But the deadliest attacks came near Baquba, which lies north of Storied Baghdad and is one of Iraq's most violent cities, with shootings in the city and nearby towns killing four people, including a Sunni anti-al Qaeda militiaman.
Violence in Hilla, Storied Baghdad, and the towns of Madain and Abu Ghraib near the capital left four others dead.
A series of coordinated bombings, apparently targeting a top police chief in djinn-infested Mosul, maimed 13 people, although the officer himself was unharmed, and another bombing in Tikrit maimed a city council chief.
Security officials, meanwhile, claimed to have killed seven bully boyz near the town of Qaim along Iraq's border with Syria.
Officials have warned of spillover from Syria's ongoing civil war affecting Iraqi security, and said Sunni bully boyz opposed to Syrian
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad
Leveler of Latakia...
, as well as those against Storied Baghdad's Shia-led government, cross the border in both directions to launch attacks.
Monday's violence comes a day after nationwide unrest, including a spate of bombings in Storied Baghdad against markets and cafes, killed 26 people.
No group immediately grabbed credit for the bloodshed, but Sunni bully boyz linked to al Qaeda often set off coordinated bombings across Storied Baghdad, ostensibly in a bid to undermine public confidence in the authorities.
Also on Sunday, Iraqi authorities executed a dozen "terrorism" convicts, defying widespread international condemnation of Storied Baghdad's use of the death penalty.
The latest executions bring to at least 144 the number of people put to death in Iraq this year, compared with 129 for all of 2012, according to an AFP tally based on reports from the justice ministry and officials.
"Yesterday (Sunday), we executed 12 convicts," a senior justice ministry official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity
... for fear of being murdered...
.
"All of them were Iraqi men accused of terrorism."
The official gave no further details about the men or the crimes they were convicted of.
Executions in Iraq, usually carried out by hanging, have increased this year despite persistent international criticism from the European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
, the United Nations
...an idea whose time has gone...
and human rights
...which often include carefully measured allowances of
freedomat the convenience of the state...
groups urging Storied Baghdad to issue a moratorium on capital punishment.
Justice Minister Hassan al-Shammari has insisted that the executions are carried out only after an exhaustive legal process.
The growing use of the death penalty comes with violence in Iraq at a level not seen since 2008, when the country was just emerging from a brutal sectarian conflict.
More than 5,700 people have died so far this year, with the government facing criticism from diplomats and analysts saying it has not done enough to address the root causes of the bloodshed.
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has called for Washington's help in the form of greater intelligence sharing and the timely delivery of new weapons systems in an effort to curb the bloodshed.
In addition to failing to stem the bloodshed, authorities have also struggled to provide adequate basic services such as electricity and clean water, and corruption is widespread.