Deaths in Iraq suicide blast

Bomber in a vehicle packed with explosives rams into an ambulance in the city of Baquba. Last Modified: 19 Jan 2011 08:41 GMT

At least 12 people have been killled after a suicide bomber driving a vehicle packed with explosives rammed into an ambulance in central Iraq, officials say. Fifty-tive people are also said to be wounded in the attack on Wednesday. The attack occurred at around 10am, in the middle of the ethnically-mixed city of Baquba, north of the capital Baghdad. "There are more bodies buried in the ruins," Samira al-Shibli, a spokeswoman for the provincial governor of Diyala province, told Reuters news agency. The blast also occurred near the front gate of the Facilities Protective Services compound, which houses the local headquarters and some training grounds for the Iraqi security force tasked with guarding government buildings. Baquba is the capital of Diyala province, which was an al-Qaeda stronghold as recently as 2008. While violence has dropped both in Diyala and nationwide since then, the province remains one of Iraq's least secure. Insecure It was the second attack by a suicide bomber in two days. At least 49 people were killed in former leader Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit on Tuesday when a suicide bomber attacked a line of police recruits. Hundreds of recruits had gathered outside a police station to be among the first applicants for 2,000 newly created interior ministry jobs. Authorities said the suicide bomber joined the crowd, then detonated his explosives-packed vest. Police also found an unexploded grenade at the scene, indicating the bomber was using other weapons to maximise the blast. Tikrit is located 130km north of Baghdad.

Source: Agencies