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Suicide bomber kills 25 near Baghdad
A suicide bomber on Tuesday blew himself up amid tribal leaders and army officers killing at least 25 people outside the town hall in Abu Ghraib, on Baghdad's western edge, security officials said.
A suicide bomber on Tuesday blew himself up amid tribal leaders and army officers killing at least 25 people outside the town hall in Abu Ghraib, on Baghdad's western edge, security officials said.
"At least 25 died including army officers and tribal chiefs, when a suicide bomber blew himself up while they toured a market in Abu Ghraib," 25 km from the centre of Baghdad, an interior ministry official said.
The officers and tribal figures were visiting the market as part of efforts at national reconciliation, defence and interior ministry officials said.
"The suicide bomber targetted a tour of the tribal leaders under the command of Major General Mared Abdel Hassen and other officers in the market near the town hall," said Brigadier General Qassim Atta, spokesman for Baghdad army command operations. Hassen is in charge of tribal affairs in the interior ministry.
Today's carnage came after a suicide bomber on a bicycle killed 28 people and injured 56 outside a Baghdad police academy on Sunday, the bloodiest attack in weeks.
The military and police are a frequent target for Al-Qaeda and insurgents in Iraq despite a dramatic fall in death tolls across the country since late 2007.
