The death toll from a shooting attack and a subsequent car bombing near a market in northern Baghdad on Tuesday rose to 23 with over 33 others wounded, an Interior Ministry source told Xinhua.

Earlier reports said 19 were killed.

"Unidentified gunmen attacked guards of a parking lot near the al-Shaab supermarket in Hay al-Tujjar district and killed five guards," the source said on condition of anonymity.

Shortly afterward, a car bomb went off among a crowd of people who gathered at the shooting attack scene, killing 18 people and wounding more than 33 others, the source added.

Meanwhile, a bomb planted in a car which was speeding on a highway went off south of Baghdad around Tuesday noon, killing four people on board.

Another car bomb exploded in Abu Dashir district in southern Baghdad, causing some casualties.

Violence continues to plague Iraq three years after the U.S.- led invasion toppled the Saddam Hussein regime in 2003.

Source: Xinhua