Thermal Matrix USA

June 22, 2008

Female suicide bomber kills at least 15 in Iraq

* US military claims 14 killed in blast
* Roadside bomb in Kirkuk kills 4
* Iraq courts order amnesty for 20,000 prisoners

BAGHDAD: A female suicide bomber struck near a government compound northeast of Baghdad on Sunday, killing at least 15 people and wounding 40, police said.

The bomber detonated her explosives in front of a heavily guarded area that includes the courthouse, the post office and the governor's offices in the city of Baqouba, a police officer said.

The attack occurred about 1pm, at a time when large numbers of people were visiting the compound to get official papers or conduct other business. Police said she was targeting a police patrol that was about 200 metres away from the compound but many civilians were nearby at stalls selling refreshments, tea and cigarettes. One man who was hit by shrapnel in his hand and shoulder said the blast occurred as many people were leaving the compound ahead of the 2pm close of business.

"I was trying to get out of the court when the explosion took place," the witness said, declining to give his name because of security concerns. "I heard some of the injured people saying that they saw a woman wearing a black robe blow herself up."

Killed: The 15 killed included seven policemen, the officer said, giving the casualty toll on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to release the information. The US military confirmed it was a female suicide bombing but gave a slightly lower death toll of 14 -- seven policemen and seven civilians. The US military has warned that Al Qaeda-in-Iraq is increasingly recruiting female bombers because they can more easily avoid security searches.

US military figures show the number of female suicide attacks has risen from eight in 2007 to nearly 20 so far this year -- most in Diyala province. Women have carried out nearly 20 suicide attacks in Iraq this year.

Kirkuk: In other violence on Sunday, a roadside bomb apparently targeting a police patrol struck a civilian car instead, killing four people, including two women, near the northern city of Kirkuk, a police official said, also declining to be identified for the same reason.

Elsewhere in northern Iraq, Iraqi police said they have arrested six men suspected of being involved in the killing of the head of Saddam Hussein's tribe earlier this month, including his Egyptian driver and three clansmen. Sheik Ali Al Nida, the head of Iraq's Albu Nasir tribe, and one of his guards were killed on June 10 when a bomb planted on their car exploded in Tikrit. "Those arrested included three who are related to Sheik Al Nida and are from the same tribe of Albu Nasir, along with an Egyptian man who was the sheik's personal driver," the officer said, adding that the other three suspects were from neighbouring Diyala province.

Amnesty: Meanwhile, Iraqi courts have ordered around 20,000 prisoners be freed under a sweeping amnesty law that is a pillar of efforts to reconcile the country's divided Shia and Sunni Arab communities, an official said.

"Releasing this many detainees enhances and gives national reconciliation efforts a real boost," Abdulsatar al-Bayrkdar, spokesman for the Supreme Judicial Council, which oversees the country's courts, told Reuters. The 20,000 comprise convicted inmates as well as those in jail awaiting trial or being held for security reasons. Minority Sunni Arabs, who were dominant under Saddam Hussein, had long demanded the law. It was passed in February. Bayrkdar said charges had also been dropped against nearly 44,900 people who were free on bail.

Charges had also been dropped against an additional 31,800 people who either had arrest warrants against them or who had been accused of crimes but were not in detention. Bayrkdar added that nearly 26,000 cases had been rejected for amnesty. It also does not apply to inmates in US military prisons. But it puts the onus on the government to ensure detainees in US military custody are transferred to Iraqi prisons. More than 20,000 prisoners are in US prison camps in Iraq. agencies

Source: dailytimes.com.pk

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