A pair of car bombs exploded near government offices in the Iraqi capital on Thursday, killing 18 people and wounding three dozen, while insurgent attacks against the nation’s nascent security forces left at least eight others dead, officials said. Al Qaida in Iraq claimed responsibility for the near-simultaneous explosions outside an Interior Ministry office in a southeastern Baghdad neighborhood. The detonations sent large plumes of smoke rising over the city and threw passers-by to the ground.Full Story