The violence has raised fears that suspected Sunni insurgents are regrouping and trying to reignite sectarian strife as the U.S. military begins to withdraw.
Police and hospital officials in Sadr City say at least 41 people have been killed and 68 wounded. An Interior Ministry official gave a slightly higher death toll of 45.
Conflicting death tolls are common in the chaotic aftermath of bombings.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren´t authorized to release the information.
(This is a Breaking News Update. AP´s earlier story is below.)
BAGHDAD, Iraq, April 29: Two car bombs exploded near a restaurant in Baghdad´s main Shiite district on Wednesday, killing at least 17 people, Iraqi police said.
The blasts came less than a week after bombings claimed more than 150 lives over a two-day span, raising fears that suspected Sunni insurgents are regrouping as the US military begins to withdraw.
The Sadr City blasts went off in quick succession from parked cars filled with explosives, police said. Officers said they found another car bomb at the scene but prevented it from detonating.
Sadr City is a former Shiite militia stronghold heavily guarded by Iraqi military. An offensive last year broke the control of militias over the district, and the area has been relatively quiet in recent months.
A police official, who gave the casualty toll on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to release the information, said nearly 50 people also were wounded.
The increase in high-profile attacks in recent weeks has raised questions about the ability of Iraq´s forces to sustain security gains as they increasingly take over from the Americans.
The blasts also followed the announcement by the Iraqi government that it has captured the alleged leader of an al-Qaida front group. On Tuesday, the Iraqi military presented the first image of the man it says is Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, saying his arrest would deal a major blow to the insurgency.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said during a weekend visit to Baghdad that the recent bombings were a sign that extremists are afraid Iraq´s government is succeeding.
Sadr City, a sprawling Shiite slum that contains about 2.5 million people, has been the site of several attacks by suspected Sunni insurgents as well as clashes between Shiite militiamen and US forces.
On Nov. 23, 2006, mortar rounds and five car bombs killed 215 people there in one of the deadliest attacks of the war.
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