Suicide bombers strike Baghdad

Two suicide bombers struck near the Green Zone in central Baghdad on Thursday, killing one person and injuring at least nine people. A third suicide bomber was wounded and captured by U.S. and Iraqi security forces, officials said.

The attacks took place at a checkpoint near the Green Zone, where the U.S. Embassy and Iraqi government offices are located.

"Two bombers approached the checkpoint shortly before 9 a.m. (0500 GMT) after a car bomb exploded near the same checkpoint," a U.S. military statement said. "A suicide bomber detonated himself and the other suicide bomber tried to run away from the scene. Iraqi police shot the man and were evacuating him when they discovered the vest" packed with explosives.

An Iraqi bomb squad team disarmed the explosives, the military said. Police initially reported that they had killed the third bomber.

The attacks came a day after a horrific blast at a poor east Baghdad neighborhood that killed 18 children and teenagers who had swarmed around a U.S. Humvee to get candy and toys.

Up to 27 people died in the Wednesday blast - including one American soldier.

More than 1,600 people have been killed in violence since April 28, when Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari announced his Shiite-led government in a country trying to crush an insurgency whose foundation is made up of Sunnis, says the AP.

At the same time, al-Jaafari said Tuesday that U.S. and other foreign troops could begin handing over security to Iraqis in selected cities, although he opposes a timetable for the complete withdrawal of multinational forces at this time.