Scores Dead In String Of Iraq Blasts

Multiple bombs that hit Iraqi security forces in Baghdad and Mosul have killed at least 33 people and wounded dozens more.

Four U.S. soldiers and an Iraqi general were among the wounded.

The bloodiest attack in the capital began when a suicide bomber detonated an explosives vest packed with ball-bearings in a line of recruits at the entrance to Baghdad's police academy. Minutes later, the U.S. military says a car parked 150 yards away exploded, apparently aimed at those responding to the first blast. At least 16 people were killed and nearly 50 wounded.

In Mosul, police say a suicide car bomber detonated his explosives as a joint U.S.-Iraqi convoy drove by in a crowded commercial area. At least 15 people were killed and 30 wounded in that attack, officials said.

The wave of violence took place after U.S. combat deaths dropped to eight in November - one of the lowest monthly levels of the war.

Bloodied police uniforms and a military boot left by victims were scattered with the crumpled metal hulk of the car bomb on the charred street in the aftermath of the bombing, according to Associated Press Television News footage.

The attacker apparently was a teenage boy whose head was taken to a local hospital, a police officer said. An AP photographer saw the head and confirmed it appeared to be a teenage boy.

Those killed included five policemen and 11 recruits, while the wounded included 11 policemen and 35 recruits, according to police and hospital officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to release the information.

The U.S. military initially said the death toll appeared to be about 20 but later said reports indicated six people were killed and 20 wounded.

In Mosul, a suicide car bomber detonated his explosives as a joint U.S.-Iraqi convoy drove by in a crowded commercial area, a police officer said. The officer also declined to be identified for the same reason.

At least 15 people - most civilians - were killed and 30 wounded in that attack, the officer said. An official at the morgue where the bodies were taken confirmed the death toll.

The U.S. military said initial reports show eight Iraqi civilians were killed in Monday's attack. It says two U.S. soldiers and 30 Iraqis were wounded.

Conflicting casualty tolls are common in the chaotic aftermath of bombings in Iraq.

Earlier Monday, a senior Defense Ministry official was wounded in a roadside bomb attack that killed one of his bodyguards, Iraqi military spokesman Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi said.

The blast occurred in the Sulaikh neighborhood, a mainly Sunni area in northern Baghdad.

The wounded official, Maj. Gen. Mudhir al-Mola, is in charge of affairs related to the Sunni guards known as the Sons of Iraq who have joined forces with U.S. troops against al Qaeda in Iraq, according to al-Moussawi.

The move is considered a key factor in the overall decline in Iraq violence.

The Shiite-led government assumed responsibility for the Sunnis in Baghdad this fall.

Iraqi forces will need to shoulder a greater share of security responsibility in the coming year. While the new Status of Forces agreement will keep American forces in Iraq for three more years, the agreement essentially states that U.S. forces will be confined to their bases as of June 2009.

CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer reported from Baghdad that, while most military analysts say the Iraqis are not ready to take over security duties yet, there is broad recognition that the national forces have made huge strides in the last year.

In exchange for their vote, the Sunnis won a major concession from the pacts largely Shiite supporters; a national referendum on the agreement will be held by July 30.