Two car bombs kill 20 in Baghdad

BAGHDAD, Oct 16 (Reuters) Two near simultaneous car bombs killed 20 people and wounded 17 in a mixed neighbourhood in northern Baghdad on Monday, an Interior Ministry source said.

One of the blasts in Ur district went off near a market, police said. The attacks took place at sunset shortly before Iftar, when Muslims break their fasting during the holy month of Ramadan.

The US and Iraqi forces have launched a security crackdown in Baghdad in a bid to ease sectarian violence gripping the capital, but bloodshed has continued unchecked.

American commanders have warned that Sunni insurgents such as the al Qaeda militant group battling the US-backed Shi'ite -led government would launch attacks during Ramadan, particularly using car bombs as a weapon.

Yesterday, four car bombs exploded in apparently coordinated attacks in the restive northern oil city of Kirkuk, killing 10 people. Those bombs exploded in quick succession.

REUTERS SAM RN2144