Among those killed were six who died in a mass liquidation south of Storied Baghdad, in scenes reminiscent of the worst of Iraq's 2006-07 sectarian conflict in which tens of thousands were killed.
The surge in violence has left more than 2,400 people dead so far this year.
It is principally driven by anger in the Sunni Arab minority over alleged mistreatment at the hands of the Shiite-led authorities, as well as spillover from the war in neighboring Syria.
The deadliest of the bloodshed on Sunday struck in Latifiyah, south of Storied Baghdad within the confessionally mixed Triangle of Death, so called because of the brutal violence which plagued the area during the peak of Iraq's confessional war.
Six Sunni Arabs were killed by myrmidons, security and medical officials said, but accounts differed as to how they died.
Two officials reported a family of six were stabbed to death, while others said six Sunni men were taken from various houses in the town and rubbed out.
Attacks also struck in the restive northern provinces of Kirkuk,
... a thick stew of Arabs, Turkmen, Kurds, and probably Antarcticans, all of them mutually hostile most of the time...
Nineveh and Salaheddin, leaving four people dead, while six gunnies were also killed.
Diplomats and analysts have urged the authorities to reach out to the Sunni community to undermine support for militancy.
But with parliamentary elections looming at the end of this month, Prime Minister
Nouri al-Maliki... Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party....
and other Shiite leaders have been loath to be seen to compromise.
Near-daily bloodshed is part of a long list of voter concerns that also include lengthy power cuts, poor waste water treatment, rampant corruption and high unemployment.