March 23 (Bloomberg) -- A mortar assault on Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, followed by a series of attacks across Iraq left at least 54 people dead today, Agence France- Presse reported.

Four attacks were made against the Green Zone, the site of the Iraqi government and U.S. embassy, injuring at least four people, AFP said. The U.S. embassy was evacuated, with staff moving into nearby bunkers, the newswire reported, citing an unidentified embassy employee. During the second attack, eight mortar rounds fell near the embassy complex and two into a nearby residential area, according to AFP.

At least 12 soldiers died and 35 were wounded when a suicide bomber crashed a truck laden with explosives into an Iraqi army base in the northern city of Mosul, AFP said, citing a U.S. military statement. It was the deadliest attack of the day, the newswire said.

South of Baghdad, armed men opened fire on crowds at a neighborhood market in Zafaraniyah, killing seven and wounding 16, according to the newswire. Other attacks were made in Baghdad's Al-Kamaliyah and Al-Shuala districts, as well as north of the city near the town of Al-Tuz, the AFP said. Northeast of the capital, 12 men were killed in a U.S. military raid on a ``suicide bombing network,'' the newswire said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kari Lundgren in London at klundgren2@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: March 23, 2008 17:04 EDT