TIKRIT – A suicide bomber wearing a vest packed with explosives and ball bearings attacked Iraqi police recruits yesterday in former dictator Saddam Hussein’s home town, killing at least 45 and wounding more than 100, officials said.
Ahmed Abdul-Jabbar, deputy governor of Salahuddin province, said the attack took place outside a police recruiting centre in Tikrit where Iraqi men were lining up hoping to get a job.
“Who else would it be but al- Qaeda, who keep on slaughtering us?” asked Mr Abdul-Jabbar. “They are the terrorists.”
Mr Abdul-Jabbar and Raed Ibrahim, head of the provincial health department, said 45 people had been killed while a police spokesman put the death toll at 50. Ammar Yousef, head of Salahuddin provincial council, said 62 people were killed. More than 100 people were wounded.
The attack was the bloodiest in Iraq since prime minister Nuri al- Maliki won support in December for his reappointment, ending a nine-month stalemate that followed last March’s election.
The new government includes the Sunni-backed Iraqiya bloc, which won the most parliamentary seats in the election and whose exclusion from power might have led to a surge in violence.
Insurgents have stepped up their assaults on Iraqi police and troops since US forces formally ended combat operations last August ahead of a full withdrawal this year.
Some officials blamed shortcomings by Iraqi security forces for the attack in Tikrit.
Suicide bombers are difficult to stop however and US troops had no more success against them when their numbers peaked at 170,000 compared to fewer than 50,000 now.
Police Lieut Col Thamir al- Jubouri, head of the provincial bomb squad, said that initial reports indicated that the suicide bomber had carried more than 10 grenades and had 20kg of TNT and C4 explosives, as well as ball-bearings, in his vest.
“We found ball bearings in many of the corpses,” Mr Jubouri told Reuters.
A police source in the main hospital of the city, 150 km (95 miles) north of Baghdad, said it was overwhelmed. Mosques broadcast appeals for residents to donate blood.
“The hospital theatre now is full of dead and wounded young people,” the source said, asking not to be identified.
The police spokesman said that at the time of the attack, more than 300 people were standing in line with their documents, hoping to get a $500-a-month job as a police trainee.
Overall violence in Iraq has fallen sharply since the peak in 2006-07 of the sectarian slaughter triggered after the 2003 US-led invasion. Shootings and bombings continue daily though.
Salahuddin province, home to Saddam’s family, continues to suffer frequent attacks by suspected Sunni Islamist insurgents opposed to the Shia-led authorities in Baghdad. Tikrit is primarily Sunni.
Police recruit Murtadha Ahmed said he was standing in line when the attack took place.
“Suddenly I heard a severe explosion. I don’t know what happened after that,” he said. “When I opened my eyes I found myself in the hospital and they [nurses] were dressing my wounds.” – (Reuters)