BAGHDAD, Iraq — A suicide attacker detonated an explosive vest in a crowded downtown coffee shop today and another bomb exploded seconds later under a nearby car, killing at least 23 people and wounding 26, police and hospital officials said.

The blasts occurred as the mother of abducted American reporter Jill Carroll appealed for her daughter's release after her captors threatened to kill her if U.S. authorities don't release all Iraqi women in military custody by Friday night.

Iraqi authorities said six of the eight detained Iraqi females are expected to be released by the U.S. military next week, but they said it was not part of a bid to free Carroll, who was seized in Baghdad on Jan. 7. American officials declined to comment.

A foreign assessment team also released a report saying it found numerous violations and reports of fraud during the Dec. 15 parliamentary election. But the International Mission for Iraqi Elections praised the ability to stage elections during a raging war and said there was an "urgent need ... for a formation of a government of true national unity."

Iraq's election commission prepared to announce election results, possibly as early as Friday, and the Interior Ministry said the number of troops and police on the streets would be sharply increased ahead of the announcement.

The suicide bombing at the Kaokub al-Sharq (Eastern Planet) coffee shop on Baghdad's Saadoun Street killed 16 people and wounded 21, said police Lt. Bilal Mohammed. The blast under a parked car outside the nearby al-Mathak restaurant killed at least seven more and injured five, including two women, Mohammed added.

Alaa Abid Ali, a medic at Baghdad's Kindi Hospital, said at least 14 bodies have been received at his hospital, while nine were taken to Ibn al-Nafis Hospital,

The blasts shattered nearby shop windows and destroyed several cars. Wooden tables and chairs were strewn over the bloodstained pavement where rescue workers treated some of the wounded. Two men wailed above the bodies of two men covered with bloodstained blankets outside the coffee shop.

The appeal by Carroll's mother, Mary Beth Carroll, came on CNN one day ahead of the kidnappers' deadline for their demands to be met.

Carroll told CNN that video images gave her hope that her daughter is alive but also have "shaken us about her fate."

"I, her father and her sister are appealing directly to her captors to release this young woman who has worked so hard to show the sufferings of Iraqis to the world," she said.

Al-Jazeera television showed the first video images of her since her capture Tuesday. The report said the 20-second video gave authorities until Friday night to free the Iraqi women or they would kill the reporter.

New images showing the journalist surrounded by armed and masked hostage-takers were aired today by Al-Jazeera. The 20 seconds of silent video also showed her talking to the camera. An editor from Al-Jazeera said it was from the same video the station had shown part of earlier.

The U.S. military has said eight Iraqi women are in military detention. An Iraqi government commission reviewing detainee cases recommended to U.S. authorities on Monday that six of them be released.

Deputy Justice Minister Busho Ibrahim Ali said the six women would be released next week but "not part of any swap with any kidnappers."

An official from a prominent Sunni political organization called for Carroll's release and denounced all kidnappings.

"We condemn the abductions of innocent civilians and journalists and call for the immediate release of the American reporter and all innocent people who have nothing to do with the (U.S.-led) occupation," said Harith al-Obeidi of the Conference for Iraq's People.