Bombings Spark Baghdad's Deadliest Day

(CBS/AP)
Iraqi officials have raised the death toll in a wave of bombings in Baghdad to at least 86 with more than 300 wounded. It is the deadliest toll this year for what appeared to be a coordinated attack.

Iraqi police and hospital officials say the most devastating blast was a truck bomb that exploded across the street from the Foreign Ministry on the edge of the walled-off Green Zone.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to release the information, say at least 59 people were killed in that blast.

The attacks in the Iraqi capital started shortly after 10 a.m. on Wednesday, striking near first near the finance ministry in northern Baghdad and then minutes later, near the foreign ministry next to the heavily fortified Green Zone.

The officials said the deadliest blast was a car bomb explosion near the foreign ministry, which killed dozens and wounded hundreds. The officials said the toll was expected to climb.

Photo Gallery: Explosions Rock Baghdad

They said five other explosions, mostly from car bombs, tore through Baghdad, killing at least eight people and wounding dozens more.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.

CBS News correspondent Sheila MacVicar reported that the coordinated bomb attacks also caused extensive damage to some of Baghdad's key roads and bridges.

Security sources told CBS News the blast near parliament may have occurred near or inside a highway underpass between the legislative compound and the al Rasheed hotel.

The Rasheed is also located within the tightly controlled Green Zone and is inhabited primarily by military and civilian contractors.

The underpass was only recently reopened after a long period of closure due to security concerns.

The explosion near parliament was also near enough to CBS News' Baghdad bureau to shatter most of the bureau's windows and cause some other superficial damage.