Blast hits Baghdad cafe

At least three people were killed and over 20 were wounded when a car bomb exploded outside a café in southwestern Baghdad on Monday night.

It's the latest in a wave of attacks on targets across Iraq that has left more than 100 people dead.

Sunday alone was one of the bloodiest days in Iraq this year.

The attacks come after fugitive Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi was sentenced to death in absentia.

Al-Hashemi - who is Sunni - on Monday told Iraqis to oppose Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who he accused of stoking sectarian tensions.

Iraq's local al Qaeda affiliate, Islamic State of Iraq, claimed responsibility for the wave of attacks.

Violence has eased since the height of sectarian fighting half a decade ago, but insurgents still carry out on average at least one major coordinated attack each month.