Baghdad ( CNN ) -- Sectarian violence flared anew in Iraq Friday as bombers struck several Shiite mosques , killing at least 18 worshipers and wounding scores more , police said . Five of the attacks -- all of them car bombs -- targeted five mosques in Baghdad , killing at least 14 people and wounding 30 . According to Baghdad police : . -- One of the blasts struck worshipers leaving the al-Mustafa Mosque in the al-Jihad neighborhood of southwestern Baghdad , killing at least three people and wounding eight . -- In the Zafaraniya neighborhood of southeastern Baghdad , five people were killed and seven wounded when a car bomb exploded outside the al-Sadreen Shiite Mosque . -- In the al-Binook neighborhood , also in southeastern Baghdad , four people were killed and five were wounded when a car bomb exploded outside a Shiite mosque as worshipers were departing . -- In the al-Qahira neighborhood of northeastern Baghdad , two people were killed and five wounded when a car bomb detonated outside the Ahal al-Bayt Shiite Mosque . -- And a car bomb exploded outside a Shiite mosque in eastern Baghdad 's Talabiya neighborhood , wounding 10 people . About 240 kilometers ( 150 miles ) north of Baghdad , in southern Kirkuk , police said four people were killed and 60 wounded by a car bomb followed by a suicide blast that targeted a Shiite mosque . Most of the casualties were Shiite worshipers , police told CNN . After the blast at the al-Mustafa Mosque , people rushed from the neighborhood to the place of worship to check on their relatives ' welfare . `` I told my son not to go to the mosque today , I had a feeling . Thank God he is OK , '' Um Zainab told CNN as she breathed deeply . `` We can not live like this , we are tired of these ongoing attacks . Oh God , we are tired . '' She accused Iraqi politicians of not doing their jobs . `` Shame on you if you ca n't protect our sons and our areas , '' she said in comments directed to them . The blast shattered glass in the mosque , outside of which bloodstains were visible . Abbas Jaber , who was in the al-Mustafa Mosque when the blast erupted , told CNN in a telephone interview that he blames al Qaeda and Baathists for Friday 's attacks , but he also expressed frustration with the Iraqi government and security forces . `` If they ca n't protect us , then they should leave their positions , '' he said . `` Enough is enough . We can not stand still like this , watching our relatives and friends get killed every day . '' The attacks came as thousands of Sunni demonstrators took to the streets for the third consecutive month in the cities of Falluja , Ramadi , Mosul , Baiji , Samarra , Tikrit and Baquba , in the provinces of Anbar , Nineveh , Salaheddin and Diyala . The protesters have been denouncing what they call second-class treatment by the Shiite-led government . They began in late December , when Sunnis took to the streets in Anbar province , which borders Jordan and Syria , to protest Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki 's order to arrest the bodyguards of Finance Minister Rafaie al-Esawi , a Sunni . The arrests came hours after President Jalal Talabani , a Kurd who was widely viewed as a stabilizing political force in Iraq , left the country to undergo treatment from a stroke . Al-Esawi then announced his resignation , effective in March , over the government 's failure to meet the demands of Sunni demonstrators to end their marginalization , his spokesman , Aysar Ali , said . The protesters , who have also demanded the release of detainees they say have been held without charges , called the government corrupt and accused it of unfairly targeting Iraq 's Sunni people . They were angry over an incident that occurred on January 25 , also a Friday , when soldiers fired on Sunnis in Falluja who were demanding the Shiite prime minister step down , health officials said . Iraq 's Arab Sunnis and Kurds have accused al-Maliki and his Shiite political party of working to consolidate power by cutting them out of the political process , an allegation that comes as U.S. lawmakers have raised concerns about Iraq strengthening its ties with Shiite-dominated Iran . Sunnis make up about 20 % of Iraq 's estimated population of more than 27 million ; about 60 % to 65 % are Shiite . Since the ouster of Saddam Hussein 's Sunni-dominated regime in 2003 , Sunnis in Iraq have been largely disaffected . The gulf widened in 2005 , when Sunnis boycotted the country 's election , opening the way to a government dominated by Shiites . The sectarian divisions translated into violence in the streets in 2006 and 2007 , with fighting that nearly ripped the country apart . In the past six years , Iraq has grown safer as a robust form of democracy took hold . Sunnis , Shiites , Kurds and others often work together ; there has been more political , economic and social stability . Coalition forces that ousted Saddam Hussein 's government have departed . But sectarian violence and instability still grip the country . Read more : Iraq newsmakers : Where are they now ? Read more : Al Qaeda 's rise in Iraq : Violence claims dozens on 10th anniversary of war .
NEW : Two mosques are targeted in Baghdad . Another bombing and suicide attack also occurs in Kirkuk . There 's a fear that sectarian violence will again ravage the country .