String of blasts in Iraq capital kills 10

BAGHDAD (AP) ― A string of explosions targeting security officials ― and people who rushed to the scene to help the injured ― killed at least 10 people in western Baghdad Monday evening, officials said.

The first explosion came from a roadside bomb in a Shiite neighborhood, targeting an Iraqi army patrol, a police official said. Minutes later, a second bomb exploded nearby, targeting a passing police patrol.

As firefighters arrived on the scene of the first blast, the third bomb went off, an official said.

He said 19 people were also wounded in the attacks. A hospital official confirmed the casualties.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Violence is nowhere near the peaks seen in 2006 and 2007, but bombings and shootings still occur with regularity.

As U.S. forces prepare to go home by the end of this year, security will rest in the hands of the Iraqi security forces. Some U.S. and Iraqi officials would like to see American forces stay in Iraq into next year to help maintain the fragile stability and train Iraqi troops.

Disagreements over whether to grant the Americans the type of legal protections they are demanding have threatened to derail any plans to have American troops in Iraq past their Dec. 31 departure date.