(adds more from witness, background)

BAGHDAD, March 6 (Reuters) - Two roadside bombs that exploded within a few minutes of each other in central Baghdad on Thursday killed five people and wounded 18 others, police said.

A police spokesman said the successive blasts had occurred in a shopping area in the Karrada district of the capital.

A witness at the scene said he had counted 13 bodies, adding he had seen people holding body parts. He also saw a woman crying in the street as rescuers searched for her sons.

Dozens of shop fronts were damaged and more than 12 ambulances had raced to the area, the witness added.

While violence has dropped across Iraq in recent months, U.S. and Iraqi officials say al Qaeda, which they blame for most large scale bombings, remains a dangerous enemy. (Writing by Michael Holden; Editing by Caroline Drees)

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