Reports: Baghdad Bomb Blasts Kill 18

October 27, 2011
Iraqi police and hospital officials say two bombs exploded in Baghdad today, killing at least 18 people and wounding more than 30 others.
 
Reports said the first bomb targeted a police patrol in the capital's Ur district, and that the second exploded when emergency services arrived on the scene to evacuate the wounded.
 
Experts have predicted an increase in violence as the end of the year deadline for U.S. troops to leave the country approaches.
 
The deadline is part of a 2008 security agreement between Baghdad and Washington.
 
compiled from agency reports