By Ross Colvin
BAGHDAD, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Iraqi
insurgents killed at least 22 people in two simultaneous bomb blasts in
central Baghdad on Thursday, challenging a security clampdown on the capital
ahead of the release of the results of last month's elections.
International monitors, asked to review complaints from minority Sunni Arabs about election fraud, delivered a report concluding that the vote was broadly fair but adding that a new government should be inclusive of all Iraq's communities.
Fearing a surge in attacks by Sunni Arab rebels, the Shi'ite and Kurdish-led government
sealed off several Iraqi cities and sent more troops and police onto Baghdad's streets on Thursday at the start of a two-day security operation.
But hours after police had set up extra checkpoints throughout the city, a police patrol was hit by a blast in central Baghdad. There were conflicting reports over whether the explosion had been caused by a car bomb or explosives hidden in a wooden handcart on the side of the road.
"At the same time a suicide bomber went inside the coffee shop and blew himself up," a policeman at the scene told Reuters, adding that 22 people, mostly civilians, had been killed in the two blasts.
Body parts lay scattered in the streets and several cars were on fire.
U.S. military officials have warned they expect a spike in insurgent violence around publication of the final results of the election.
In the past week, the insurgents have shown an ability to strike at will, staging bold attacks in the capital, shooting dead 12 civilians at a checkpoint and abducting and killing as many as 34 police recruits north of Baghdad.
Final results of the Dec. 15 parliamentary poll, based on tallies from some 31,000 ballot boxes, will be published on Friday, election officials say. They say these will be in line with the partial, provisional counts given some weeks ago.
Sunni Arab and secular parties complained of massive fraud in the election but Sunni leaders are already discussing joining a grand coalition government with the dominant Shi'ite Islamists and the Kurdish bloc.
Negotiations could take months, prolonging the daunting task of tackling an insurgency that has killed thousands.
The International Mission for Iraqi Elections issued a report saying there were irregularities in the election but praising the Electoral Commission's efforts in the midst of civil strife. In a conclusion clearly aimed at appeasing Sunni anger, it said all communities should have a role in government.
On Wednesday, at least nine Iraqi security guards were killed and the two Kenyan engineers they were protecting kidnapped in an elaborate ambush in a busy Baghdad street.
The attack came less than 12 hours after gunmen dressed as policemen killed seven Iraqis working for a catering firm that supplied the Iraqi army.
The Iraqi army said on Thursday it had found 12 bodies of civilians who had been shot dead after stopping at an insurgent checkpoint in the rural Niba'i area, north of Baghdad.
In yet more violence, Sunni Arab rebels abducted 35 police recruits as they drove north from Baghdad to Samarra, police said.
They said one man had survived Tuesday's attack with serious wounds. He told police the recruits had been divided into groups and that he and 14 others had been forced into a well and shot at. He was the only survivor, he said.
The local police commander, Colonel Emad Mohammed, said the area where the attack took place was too dangerous for his men to go and retrieve the bodies. "We don't have enough power to control the situation," he told Reuters.
In Baghdad, witnesses reported seeing an increase in the number of military and police checkpoints throughout the city on Thursday. Cars were being stopped and searched, causing traffic jams, as soldiers patrolled the streets.
"We have set up a large number of checkpoints and we are fully prepared to provide security for our citizens," Iraqi army Brigadier Jalil Khalaf told Reuters.
The Iraqi army has also clamped down on the Sunni stronghold of Falluja, 50 km (32 miles) west of Baghdad. Police have issued fliers telling residents that routes in and out of the city would be closed until Saturday.
Residents in the restive city of Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) north of Baghdad, said the city had been sealed off, with Iraqi and U.S. patrols moving through the streets. (Additional reporting by Faris al-Mehdawi and Mussab al- Khairalla