Nine police officers among the dead after 10 bombs explode in and around Iraqi capital
A series of explosions in and around Baghdad have killed 16 people, including 10 who died when a suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowd of police officers.
At least nine of the dead were police. It was the third major attack this month in which security personnel were targeted and took the most losses.
In total, at least 10 bombs exploded. The worst single attack came near Taji, 12 miles north of Baghdad, where police had gathered after a roadside bomb targeting a passing US military convoy blew up.
When the police arrived on the scene, a suicide bomber walked into the crowd and blew himself up, police and hospital officials said. Seven police and three civilians died and 19 people, including 15 police, were injured.
Earlier a car bomb exploded in Sadr City, injuring five people. Namiq Khazal, who lives nearby, said: 'We woke up to a big blast nearby and the glass windows in front of the house were smashed. My young brother was injured by glass.'
Minutes later in Sadr City, a bomb hidden in a pile of rubbish exploded, killing one person and wounding five more. Another roadside bomb, this time targeting a police patrol, injured three policemen and four bystanders.
Five explosions in the south-western Baghdad neighbourhood of Bayaa killed five people, including two policemen, and injured 15. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
The attacks came hours before British military operations in Iraq were due to come to an end with the completion of a Royal Navy mission to train Iraqi sailors. Most British forces pulled out of the country in 2009.
The defence secretary, Liam Fox, paid tribute to the 179 British personnel who lost their lives in the eight-year deployment.
He said of the last mission: 'Royal Navy personnel have used their formidable skills and expertise to bring about a transformation in Iraq's naval force. The Iraqi navy has a key role to play in protecting Iraq's territorial waters and the oil infrastructure that is so vital to Iraq's economy, and I am proud of the role British forces have played in making it capable of doing that job.'
Comments