Suicide bomber kills 20 in Iraq's Falluja

At least 20 people were killed and another 20 wounded by a suicide bomber in Iraq's Falluja, west of Baghdad, on Thursday, a hospital source said.

A bomber wearing a suicide explosives vest walked up to a queue of young men at a police recruitment centre and detonated the device, the source said.

Falluja, 50 km (35 miles) west of Baghdad, is in restive Anbar province, a stronghold of the Sunni Arab insurgency.

Recruitment centers for Iraqi security forces are common targets for such attacks, which are mostly blamed on Sunni Islamist al Qaeda.

Some Sunni Arab tribes in Anbar have been encouraging young men to join the Iraqi security forces in Anbar as part of a new strategy to combat Al-Qaeda in the area.

Al-Qaeda in turn has been waging a campaign against tribes who cooperate with authorities in Anbar.

The US military has more than 6,000 troops in Anbar.

First Published: May 31, 2007 16:56 IST