Iraq bombs kill 16 despite Iran visit security

By Michael Holden

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Two bomb blasts killed at least 16 people in Baghdad on Monday, police 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 U.S.-led invasion to topple Iran's old foe Saddam Hussein in 2003.

In the worst incident, at least 12 people were killed and 46 wounded when an Iraqi army patrol was hit by a bomb in a parked car in central Baghdad's Bab al-Muadham area, police said.

The dead included Iraqi soldiers, U.S.-backed neighbourhood security police and civilians, the U.S. 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 U.S. 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 U.S. military spokesman Colonel Allen Batschelet.

The bombings, which the U.S. military blamed on Sunni Islamist al Qaeda, occurred despite a major security operation across Baghdad for Ahmadinejad's visit, which ended on Monday.