Two car bombs ripped though central Baghdad Monday, killing at least nine people including five Iraqi soldiers. Twenty-three others were wounded.

The bombs exploded at a checkpoint outside the city's heavily-secure Green Zone, the area containing many of Iraq's government building.

Baghdad military spokesman Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi said the bombers appeared to be targeting the motorcades of two senior government officials -- one from the military, the other from the cabinet.

The blasts marked the start of a violent day in the Iraqi capital. Two other bombings and a jewelry heist left three more people dead and 15 wounded.