BAGHDAD (AP) — A series of bombings targeting commercial areas of Baghdad killed 22 people as residents were heading out on the town Thursday evening in a new spasm of violence to strike the Iraqi capital, according to Iraqi officials.

The attacks happened within minutes of each other, suggesting a coordinated assault favored by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, an al-Qaida-inspired group that is behind much of the bloodshed in Iraq.