Insurgents have launched two deadly attacks against Shi'ites in Iraq, just hours after U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld paid a surprise visit to American troops in the country.
In the first attack, witnesses said gunmen entered a bakery in a mainly Shi'ite neighborhood in Baghdad and opened fire on the workers, killing at least nine people.
A short time later, a car bomb exploded outside a Shi'ite mosque in the town of Balad Ruz, northeast of Baghdad. Police say at least 13 people were killed and 23 hurt.
The attacks occurred just a short time after Mr. Rumsfeld paid a surprise visit to U.S. troops in Mosul and Baghdad. He also observed Iraqi police and special forces perform training exercises, before he met with Iraqi interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.