BAGHDAD, Iraq — Two car bombs targeted a contractors' convoy in central Baghdad yesterday just as a minibus carried away schoolchildren. Twenty-seven Iraqis and two Americans were killed, the U.S. military said.

Exact figures on the number of children from the nearby school killed in the incident were unavailable.

Officers with the U.S. 7th Cavalry's 3rd squadron and the Iraqi army described the coordinated attack as a "car-bomb sandwich." One bomber apparently pulled out from an alley near the school to attack the convoy's rear; and another crashed head-on into the front of the convoy.

Nearly 300 people have been killed in insurgent violence since Iraq's democratically elected government was sworn in 10 days ago.

Against the backdrop of surging violence, Iraq's new prime minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, announced he was prepared to submit to the National Assembly today six more names for his Cabinet, thus ending more than three months of bickering and indecision over the nation's new government. Al-Jaafari did not reveal the names but said Iraq's three-member presidency had approved them.

Sunni sources, meanwhile, said the key Defense Ministry post would be filled by a Sunni, Saadoun al-Duleimi, a former general who fell out with Saddam Hussein.

Yesterday's dual car-bombing was so powerful it destroyed the armored SUVs in the contractors' convoy and blew out windows for a block.

"They must have seen the school bus," said Lt. Tim Fisher, 25, of the 7th Cavalry's 3rd squadron, commander of a cavalry Humvee convoy. "It was right there. It just shows they have no qualms about the collateral damage that they cause. That's one of the busiest streets in Baghdad."

Elsewhere in Iraq, Army officials said yesterday that 12 bodies were found this past week in the Tigris River in the former insurgent stronghold of Salman Pak, several miles downstream from Baghdad.

The bodies of six men were found Monday. They apparently had been shot in the head after they were blindfolded and their hands were tied behind their backs, said Lt. Col. Michael Johnson, commander of the 7th Cavalry's 3rd squadron. On Wednesday, the bodies of four women and two children were found in the river near the same spot, he said.

Earlier this year, the emergence of other bodies miles downstream from Salman Pak had made for volatile politics because the city, which is in Iraq's so-called Triangle of Death, is rife with conflict between Shiites and Sunnis who dwell there.

As the country's bloodletting continued, Iraq's political leaders said they had agreed on nominations for six vacancies in al-Jaafari's Cabinet, breaking the deadlock over key positions that has undermined the installation of Iraq's new government.

Al-Jaafari said the names of five ministers and one deputy prime minister would be presented for approval to the National Assembly today, including a selection for defense minister.

Al-Jaafari refused to name names, but Sunni politicians said the new defense minister would be al-Duleimi, a Sunni political scientist and former army general who fled to Saudi Arabia after falling out with Saddam.

If al-Duleimi gets the job, it would be seen as a move by al-Jaafari to convince skeptical members of the Sunni minority that the new government and, just as importantly, the new army, represents them.

Al-Jaafari had hoped to curb support for the militants by including in his government members of the disaffected Sunni Arab minority, who dominated under Saddam and are thought to make up the bulk of the insurgency. But Shiite leaders have repeatedly rejected candidates advanced by Sunni hard-liners because of ties to Saddam's regime, which brutally repressed Shiites and Kurds.

Information from The Associated Press is included in this report.