Double bomb attack strikes Iraqi capital
At least 18 people are believed to have died when two bombs exploded in Shia neighbourhood of Baghdad
A double bombing has killed 18 people in a Shia district of Baghdad in the deadliest attack since Barack Obama declared US forces will leave Iraq by the end of the year.
Two police officials said the first explosion, at a music store shortly after 7pm on Thursday, killed two people. The second bomb struck four minutes later as rescue workers and others rushed to the scene, the officials said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Thirty-six people were wounded in the attack, according to a medic at Imam Hussein hospital.
Many Iraqis fear violence will increase when the US troops leave the country. Insurgents have sought to exploit continued instability and security gaps that Iraqi forces have been unable to close.
"I stood outside my shop and saw burning cars and dead bodies on the ground," said Ahmed Jalil, 27, who owns a grocery store near the attack site in Ur, a Shia district in north-east Baghdad. "I could see wounded people being loaded on police pickups.
"Today's attack proves that the government's allegations that the security is under control are nothing but baseless allegations and that the tens of checkpoints scattered all over the capital are useless and a waste of resources."
Violence has dropped dramatically across Iraq but bombings and attacks still happen nearly every day, although death tolls are usually relatively low, and American troops have all but ended street patrols in Iraq.
There are 39,000 US troops in Iraq. The 31 December deadline is part of a 2008 security agreement between Baghdad and Washington that was negotiated by the administration of George Bush.
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