Interior Ministry officials and hospital officials said 53 people were killed and 130 were wounded. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because not authorized to speak to media.

Hassan Abdullah, who owns a clothing shop in the area, said he was walking to the site of the first blast to see what happened when the second bomb went off.

"I saw a leg and a hand falling near me as I was walking. The whole place was a mess. Wounded people were crying for help, and people started to run away," said Abdullah, 25, "The aim of such attacks is the random killing of as many people as possible in order to terrorize Iraqi people."

A police officer said the blasts also damaged seven shops and four parked cars. Like the rest of those who provided information, he spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release information.

Violence has dropped substantially in Baghdad over the last half-year with the boost in US troops, a cease-fire by a powerful Shiite militia, and many Sunni fighters turning against al-Qaida in Iraq. But multiple killings are still a daily occurrence.

Southeast of Baghdad, the US military said it discovered a home in a farming area that served as an al-Qaida in Iraq training facility and prison.

The brick house was located on a dirt road in a remote area of Zambraniyah, about 20 miles southeast of Baghdad.

From the outside, nothing appeared unusual. But inside the house, found handcuffs attached to the floor and another connected to a barred window, hooks used to hang people attached to a wall and interrogation books written in Arabic, the military said.

"It looked like there were remnants where people suffered," said Spc. Daniel Murray, of Troop C, 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, who was on the mission Wednesday.

Troops also found a treadmill and stair-climbing machine in another room, said Murray, of Jacksonville, Ill.

Squadron commander Lt. Col. Mark Solomon said it appeared that the home was used as a base but it was hard to tell when it was last occupied.