Violence continues to ravage Iraq, at least four people being killed in Baghdad after a car bomb exploded inside the Green Zone on Tuesday, while 29 Iraqis were shot dead by unknown perpetrators in the volatile province Diyala, security sources informed.

The vehicle packed with explosives went off near the Iranian embassy, torching several other cars and injuring two persons.

Meanwhile, an overnight attack in the eastern Diyala province killed 29 Iraqis, media reported on Tuesday. Unknown assailants dressed as Iraqi soldiers entered several homes and opened fire, killing most of the persons inside and injuring four others.

Authorities believe the gunmen are part of an extremist group that managed to dodge an operation launched by coalition and local forces against “terrorist elements” in the region. According to security reports, al-Qaeda relocated its operations in Diyala after a massive surge of troops in Baghdad and other regions.

Most of the military actions were concentrated in Baquba, the capital city of the governorate. About 10,000 American and Iraqi troopers are participating in this drive to eliminate threats from the embattled province, dozens of suspected terrorists being detained as an immediate result of this operation.

Tuesday’s incidents come after a suicide attacker took the lives of at least 78 persons in Kirkuk early Monday. Swiftly after this first blast, two others followed throughout the city, but with a smaller intensity.

Iraqi Premier Nuri al-Maliki condemned the attacks, accusing extremists of killing innocent civilians after loosing ground in the face of governmental and foreign troops.

“Your enemy is trying, with heinous crimes against unarmed civilians, to loosen the grip around it in Baghdad, Diyala and Anbar provinces, and to cover up its defeat by our armed forces and heroic tribesmen,” the prime minister said.