Petrol tanker bomb attack 'kills 17'

A petrol tanker loaded with explosives rammed into a small bus and exploded near a police station in Baghdad today, killing up to 17 people, police said.

Iraqi deputy minister Ahmed Kadhim Ibrahim said that at least 10 died.

He blamed the explosion on supporters of Saddam Hussein who were angry over the former dictator’s capture.

The blast came before dawn in Baghdad’s al-Bayaa district, police said. Two cars nearby were destroyed.

Ibrahim said the tanker was speeding towards a police station, but collided with a bus on the way.

Bassem Naiem, a policeman at the scene, earlier put the toll at 22, but authorities later said there were conflicting reports on the numbers.

“I was leaving home when I heard an explosion and saw cars burning at al-Bayaa intersection,” said Ahmed Ayyoub, a 23-year bus driver.

“I ran to the place to see if there were people injured. There were lots of human remains on the sidewalks and we started collecting them,” he said.

"The rescue effort was more difficult because it was still dark at the time of the blast," he said.

Suicide bombers have frequently targeted Iraqi police stations in strikes at what they view as collaborators with the US-led occupation authorities. The coalition scored a major victory over the weekend with the arrest of Saddam Hussein.

Ibrahim blamed the bomb on Saddam supporters.

“They were trying to avenge the cowardly leader, who they saw as a hero in the past,” Ibrahim said.