Two roadside bombs ripped off near a popular cafe in Baghdad's Shiite neighborhood of Sadr city late on Thursday, killing 18 people and wounding 43 others, a local police source said.

The twin blasts happened on Thursday evening and claimed 18 lives, most of them civilians, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

Another 43 people were wounded in the attacks, some seriously, he added. Women and children were among the victims.

Police have rushed the wounded to nearby hospitals and cordoned off the scene, the source said.

The attacks happened one day after a slew of suicide bombings and car bombings rocked the capital city and left more than a score dead.

Violence in Iraq has dropped significantly since its peak in 2006 and 2007 when the country was embroiled in sectarian bloodshed, but deadly shootings and bombings still occur almost on a daily basis.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet