Eight dead in Diyala car bomb

At least eight soldiers have died after a car bomb exploded near an army headquarters in Iraq's volatile Diyala province according to security sources Monday. The blast is the latest in a string of attacks targeting security forces in the region.

By News Wires (text)

REUTERS - A car bomb attack on an Iraqi army unit in volatile Diyala province killed at least eight soldiers, security sources said on Monday, as the Iraqi government continues to battle a stubborn insurgency.

The blast took place near an army headquarters in Kanaan, 70 km (45 miles) northeast of Baghdad, killing eight soldiers and wounding 12, one source in Diyala's operations command said. Another source said 10 soldiers were killed and 13 wounded.

However, Muthana al-Timimi, head of the security committee of the Diyala provincial council, gave the casualty figures as five dead and 10 wounded and said the blast was caused by a large quantity of explosives placed near government buildings, including the army headquarters.

Rescue workers were searching for survivors in the rubble, a witness at the scene told Reuters. The explosion damaged the army headquarters and nearby buildings, he said.

"I can see a big hole in the ground and three damaged buildings," said the witness.

Samira al-Shibli, a spokeswoman for the Diyala provincial governor, said three soldiers were killed and six wounded.

"It was a parked car bomb attack on an Iraqi army intelligence unit ... The sound of the blast was heard in all of the city of Baquba," she said. Another car bomb was discovered at the scene but was defused, she said.

Iraqi security sources and officials sometimes give conflicting figures of casualties.

Diyala is a province where al Qaeda and other Sunni insurgents still battle Iraqi security forces. A volatile mix of minority Kurds, majority Shi'ites and Sunnis has made it difficult to bring peace to Diyala.

Suspected Sunni insurgents and Shi'ite militia have stepped up assaults in recent months on Iraqi policemen and soldiers, seeking to undermine faith in the security forces before a full U.S. military withdrawal by the end of this year.