ISKANDARIYA, Iraq – A suicide bomber targeted a group of Sunni Arab militiamen queuing to collect pay cheques at an Iraqi army post south of Baghdad, killing at least nine and wounding 31 on Saturday, police said.
The US-sponsored Sunni patrolmen, or Sahwas, helped reduce violence in Iraq after they turned on al-Qaeda and other insurgent groups although ties between them and the Shia-led government in Baghdad have been strained in recent weeks by the arrest of Sahwa leaders.
The attack took place in Iskandariya, 40km (25 miles) south of the Iraqi capital, which was once part of an area known as the “Triangle of Death” where Sunni extremists frequently attacked Shia Muslims.
“The Sahwa men were preparing to enter the military post to receive their salaries when a suicide bomber managed to blow himself up among them, killing nine of them,” said police colonel Ali al-Zahawi.
At a local hospital, survivors were carried in screaming in pain.
“What have we done to deserve this?” said Sahwa member Mohammed al-Janabi, who was badly wounded in the abdomen and legs.
“We helped to make this area safe and when we come to receive our salaries, our bodies are ripped apart. Goddamn al Qaeda! goddamn al-Qaeda!” – (Reuters).