A wave of attacks across Iraq killed 67 people Thursday as it faced a political crisis, with its vice president accused of running death squads and the premier warning he could break off power-sharing.

Apparently coordinated blasts in the capital and the slaughter of a family of five in restive Diyala province were the first major sign of violence in a row that has threatened Iraq's fragile political truce and heightened sectarian tensions just days after US forces completed their withdrawal.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki vowed that the bombers would not be allowed to have any impact on the political process, while parliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi condemned the attacks, which he said "threaten national unity."

"The timing of these crimes and their locations confirm once again to any doubters the political nature of the goals that those criminals want to achieve," Maliki said in a statement.

"The criminals and those who stand behind them will not succeed in changing events or the political process, or in escaping punishment."

Parliament called an urgent meeting of political leaders for Friday, the Muslim day of prayer and rest.

Meanwhile, US army chief of staff General Ray Odierno, former head of US forces in Iraq, met with Maliki for talks on military cooperation, a statement from the premier's office said, without elaborating..

More than a dozen Baghdad attacks, the deadliest in more than four months, mostly targeted Shiite neighbourhoods and coincided with the morning rush hour.

Health ministry spokesman Ziad Tariq put the toll at 60 dead and 183 wounded, while an interior ministry official said 63 people were killed and 194 wounded.

The deadliest single attack involved a car bomb driven by a suicide attacker which blew up at the offices of the anti-corruption agency, killing 23 people, including five senior investigators, the interior ministry official said.

Twin roadside bombs and a car bomb, struck construction workers in the Allawi neighbourhood, central Baghdad, killing 16.

And separate evening attacks at a market and a cafe killed three, Tariq said.

Helicopters could be heard hovering overhead at many of the blast sites and emergency response vehicles rushed to the scene of attacks, while tightened security at checkpoints worsened Baghdad's already choking traffic.

"They didn't target any vital institutions or security positions," Baghdad security spokesman Major General Qassim Atta told AFP. "They targeted children's schools, day workers, the anti-corruption agency."

Atta, who said there had been a dozen attacks across the city, said it was "too early to say" who was behind the violence.

The attacks struck in the Allawi, Bab al-Muatham and Karrada districts of central Baghdad; Adhamiyah, Shuala and Shaab in the north, Jadriyah in the east, Ghazaliyah in the west and Al-Amil and Dura in the south, officials said.

A family of five -- parents, their two daughters and a son -- were gunned down by insurgents in a suburb of the Diyala provincial capital Baquba, north of Baghdad, early on Thursday, medical and security officials said.

The father and son were both members of the anti-Qaeda Sunni tribal militia known as the Sahwa which sided with the US military from late-2006, helping to turn the tide of the insurgency.

And in the main northern city of Mosul, a gun attack on an army checkpoint left two soldiers dead, a police officer said.

The White House insisted Iraq's security forces were capable in the face of Thursday's "heinous" attacks, while the US embassy noted it was "especially important during this critical period that Iraq's political leaders work to resolve differences peacefully."

UN special envoy to Baghdad Martin Kobler slammed the "horrendous" attacks, and said Iraq's leaders must "act swiftly, responsibly and in unity."

Britain and the European Union also condemned the attacks.

Thursday's violence was the worst since August 15, when 74 people were killed in a series of attacks across 17 Iraqi cities.

It comes with Iraqi politicians at loggerheads over a warrant issued for the arrest of Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, with Maliki demanding that Kurdish authorities hand over the Sunni Arab official, who is holed up in their autonomous region. Hashemi denies the charges.

Maliki has also called for his Sunni deputy, Saleh al-Mutlak, who belongs to the same Iraqiya bloc as Hashemi, to be sacked after he described the Shiite-led government as a "dictatorship."

Iraqiya is boycotting parliament and the cabinet, and Maliki has threatened to replace their ministers in the year-old unity government.

Washington has urged calm, with the crisis coming just days after US troops completed their withdrawal, leaving behind what President Barack Obama had described as a "sovereign, stable and self-reliant Iraq."

Iraq row deepens as PM calls for VP handover
Baghdad (AFP) Dec 21, 2011 - Iraq's government marked its first anniversary Wednesday in turmoil as its premier urged Kurd officials to hand over the Sunni vice president on terror charges, in a row that has raised communal tension.

Washington has urged calm, but Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki threatened to replace ministers of the Sunni-backed Iraqiya bloc if they do not end a cabinet boycott, as Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, holed up in the autonomous Kurdish region, rejected claims he ran a death squad.

Lawmakers are also due to consider a call from Maliki to sack Sunni Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlak, who has decried the Shiite-led national unity government as a "dictatorship."

The crisis comes just days after US troops completed their withdrawal, leaving behind what US President Barack Obama described as a "sovereign, stable, and self-reliant Iraq."

"We call for the government of the Kurdistan region to... hand over Hashemi to the justice system," Maliki told a Baghdad news conference. "We do not accept any interference in Iraqi justice."

Maliki also rejected Hashemi's calls for Arab League representatives to observe the investigation and any questioning, telling reporters: "We gave the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein a fair trial, and we will ensure that a fair trial will also be given to Hashemi," referring to the now-executed Saddam.

He also warned Hashemi and Mutlak's Iraqiya bloc that he would replace the group's nine cabinet ministers if they continued to boycott government sessions.

"Ministers have no right to suspend their membership in the government because they will be considered resigned," Maliki said. "In the next cabinet meeting, if they do not come back, we will appoint replacements."

He added that "if we don't succeed to reach an agreement, we will move towards forming a majority government," as opposed to the current national unity cabinet.

Iraqiya, which has not pulled out of the government, holds 82 of the 325 seats in parliament and controls nine ministerial posts. Earlier it said it was suspending its participation in the legislature.

The bloc, which garnered most of its support from the Sunni minority and emerged with the most seats in March 2010 elections, was out-manoeuvred for the premiership by Maliki who finished second in the polls.

Maliki's remarks came after he spoke by telephone to US Vice President Joe Biden, who urged him to work with other parties to resolve the worsening crisis that threatens Iraq's fragile political truce.

Biden spoke with Maliki and parliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi, and "stressed the urgent need for the prime minister and the leaders of the other major blocs to meet and work through their differences together," the White House said.

Nujaifi, also a Sunni and a member of Iraqiya, said in a statement that Biden had told him that "some people are trying to trigger sectarian violence one day after the US forces' withdrawal."

The speaker later met Iran's envoy to Baghdad. Washington has persistently accused Tehran of negatively influencing Iraqi politics.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said she was "extremely concerned" and urged "an inclusive dialogue" to address political differences in Iraq.

US officials also confirmed that Central Intelligence Agency Director David Petraeus, the former US military commander credited with containing sectarian violence in Iraq, had visited Baghdad in recent days.

But they said it was a previously scheduled trip and that Petraeus did not have any political talks in Baghdad.

Hashemi, meanwhile, at a defiant news conference in the Kurdish regional capital Arbil denied the charges against him.

"I swear to God that I never committed a sin when it comes to Iraqi blood," he told reporters on Tuesday. "I suggest transferring the case to Kurdistan. On this basis, I will be ready to face trial."

He added that apparent confessions aired on state television linking him to attacks were "false" and "politicised." His office has complained of "intentional harassment."

Officials issued the warrant for Hashemi's arrest on Monday, after banning him from travelling overseas.

Security officials say they have detained at least 13 of Hashemi's bodyguards in recent weeks, but his office says only three have been arrested.

Maliki and other leaders have called for talks to resolve the crisis, but the premier's spokesman told AFP he would not accept any mediation over the charges against Hashemi.

"The prime minister will not compromise the blood of Iraqis, no matter what the price," Ali Mussawi said.

Maliki has also called for Mutlak, like Hashemi a Sunni Arab and a member of the Iraqiya bloc, to be sacked after Mutlak said the premier was "worse than Saddam Hussein."

Lawmakers are due to consider his request on January 3.