Police die in Iraq suicide attack

BAGHDAD – A suicide truck bomber slammed into a crowd of police lining up for duty yesterday near Tikrit, collapsing the station and killing at least 30 people and wounding 50, police said.

Minutes later, a roadside bomb struck a car on a highway on the western outskirts of Tikrit, 130 kilometres north of Baghdad, killing two civilians and wounding two others, police said. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Iraqi security forces would deploy in force this week as part of a US-backed security sweep aimed at stopping the violence in the capital.The Shi’ite prime minister stressed that the operation would be comprehensive.”The new security plan will not start from a specific area, but it will start from all areas and at the same time and those who will take part in it are from all formations of the army and police,” he said, facing criticism that delays in starting the operation have allowed attacks that have killed hundreds over the past few weeks.”The operation will continue to escalate and very soon, during this week we will witness a big start and the intensive deployment of army, police and other security forces in different areas in Baghdad.”The first blast near Tikrit occurred about 8 am as police were arriving for work at the Adwar police station, provincial police Capt.Abdel-Samad Mohammed said, giving the casualty toll.He said 21 of the 30 killed were policemen.The bomber drove a small truck that was packed with explosives covered by hay and the force of the blast flattened the building and heavily damaged three houses close to the station, along with municipal offices and the post office.Local residents who rushed to the scene tried to help with rescue efforts before civil defence squads arrived with shovels to remove the debris and pull out the dead and those injured.US and Iraqi forces later surrounded the area.Bashir Masour, a 46-year-old labourer, said the explosion blew out the windows of his house, about 500 metres away.”I ran to help and I saw destruction everywhere, along with charred bodies and body parts.Blood was spilled across a big area” he said.”I carried six people who I thought were still alive but then realised they had died after being torn apart by shrapnel.”Adwar, about 20 kilometres southeast of Tikrit, is where former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was captured on December 13 2003.Insurgents frequently target Iraqi security forces, accusing them of collaborating with the US.Nampa-APPrime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Iraqi security forces would deploy in force this week as part of a US-backed security sweep aimed at stopping the violence in the capital.The Shi’ite prime minister stressed that the operation would be comprehensive.”The new security plan will not start from a specific area, but it will start from all areas and at the same time and those who will take part in it are from all formations of the army and police,” he said, facing criticism that delays in starting the operation have allowed attacks that have killed hundreds over the past few weeks.”The operation will continue to escalate and very soon, during this week we will witness a big start and the intensive deployment of army, police and other security forces in different areas in Baghdad.”The first blast near Tikrit occurred about 8 am as police were arriving for work at the Adwar police station, provincial police Capt.Abdel-Samad Mohammed said, giving the casualty toll.He said 21 of the 30 killed were policemen.The bomber drove a small truck that was packed with explosives covered by hay and the force of the blast flattened the building and heavily damaged three houses close to the station, along with municipal offices and the post office.Local residents who rushed to the scene tried to help with rescue efforts before civil defence squads arrived with shovels to remove the debris and pull out the dead and those injured.US and Iraqi forces later surrounded the area.Bashir Masour, a 46-year-old labourer, said the explosion blew out the windows of his house, about 500 metres away.”I ran to help and I saw destruction everywhere, along with charred bodies and body parts.Blood was spilled across a big area” he said.”I carried six people who I thought were still alive but then realised they had died after being torn apart by shrapnel.”Adwar, about 20 kilometres southeast of Tikrit, is where former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was captured on December 13 2003.Insurgents frequently target Iraqi security forces, accusing them of collaborating with the US.Nampa-AP