Surprise!

Iraq got its October surprise: a visit from Rummy. Rummy got a surprise in return.

Baghdad Blasts Kill 11; Rumsfeld Visits

Two car bombs shook the capital in quick succession Sunday, killing at least 11 people, including an American soldier, and wounding 16, U.S. and Iraqi officials said, as Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld made a surprise visit to troops in the field. A Marine was reported killed in action west of the capital.

Rumsfeld met with American troops in Iraq's western desert, telling them it was unlikely the United States would pull out any troops before next year's elections. He said the violence was expected to increase in the run-up to the elections.

It was Rumsfeld's first visit to Iraq since the United States handed over authority to an interim government June 28. With American troops getting killed at a rate of more than one per day in Iraq, Rumsfeld's trip was not announced in advance.

A suicide attacker detonated a minibus packed with explosives near an eastern Baghdad police academy, police Cap. Ali Ayez said at the scene. At least four mangled bodies lay on the street amid scattered shoes, papers and a handbag. Police collected body parts on stretchers.