Two bomb blasts killed 19 people in Baghdad today, police and Iraqi security forces said, despite increased security across the capital for a historic visit by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Iraqi officials said the attacks were not related to the state visit by Ahmadinejad, the first by a regional leader since the US-led invasion to topple Iran's old foe Saddam Hussein in 2003.
In the worst incident, 15 people were killed and 20 wounded when an Iraqi army patrol was hit by a suicide car bomb in central Baghdad's Bab al-Muadham area, said Major-General Qassim Moussawi, spokesman for security operations in Baghdad.
The dead included Iraqi soldiers, US-backed neighbourhood security police and civilians, the US military said.
Another four people, including two soldiers, were killed and 10 wounded when a suicide bomber rammed a minibus into an Iraqi army checkpoint in Ghadeer in eastern Baghdad.
The US military said Iraqi soldiers had prevented the bomber from reaching the probable intended target, a nearby Iraqi army headquarters, likely saving many lives.
"A minibus laden with explosives was stopped by the heroic actions of several Iraqi army soldiers," said US military spokesman Colonel Allen Batschelet.
The bombings, which the US military blamed on Sunni Islamist al-Qaeda, occurred despite a major security operation across Baghdad for Ahmadinejad's visit, which ended today.
"These are regular attacks. It has nothing to do with the visit of the Iranian president," Major-General Moussawi said.
"If the suicide bomber wants to commit suicide, how can we prevent them?" he said.