A series of bombs exploded near the convoy of Iraq’s industry minister yesterday, killing 16 people as the unrelenting violence continued across the country.

The attack on the ministerial convoy of Fawzi al-Hariri — who was attending a meeting with Prime Minister al-Maliki at the time — came in the predominately Christian Camp Sara district of Baghdad. Two bombs exploded in front of the vehicles, killing three bodyguards, and a massive car bomb then detonated at a nearby car parts market, killing a further 13.

In its aftermath witnesses described the dead and 87 wounded scattered across the streets and locals loading the injured into cars to ferry them to nearby hospitals.

The attack came as the American military announced the death of two more soldiers, bringing the number of American servicemen killed since Saturday to 17.

The latest American deaths came when one soldier was killed when his patrol was attacked near Kirkuk in northern Iraq. Another was shot when his patrol came under small-arms fire in Baghdad.

The deaths mark a sudden spike in the killing of American servicemen since violence in the country escalated following the start of Ramadan.

Eight American soldiers were killed in Baghdad on Monday alone, in what a military spokesman described as a “tragic day.”

Since August, American forces have made securing Baghdad a priority and have sent thousands of additional troops there to conduct sweeps of the most unstable neighborhoods.