Iraq bombings kill 45 amid surge in bloodshed UPDATE.

(From AFX Europe (Focus))

(adds quotes, details of further bombings)

BAGHDAD (AFX) - Insurgents killed at least 45 Iraqis and wounded scores more in a series of bombings on Wednesday, including one in a crowded Baghdad market and another at a military recruitment centre.

The blast in the Shurja market left 24 dead and 35 wounded and came just two hours after rebels targeted an Iraqi army recruitment centre in the Shiite town of Hilla, south of Baghdad, killing 12 volunteers and wounding 38.

Insurgents also defied a large-scale Baghdad security plan with two more attacks -- a roadside booby trap and a car bomb -- which killed another three people in the central Karrada neighbourhood, a police officer said.

Meanwhile, a medic in the city's …