Suicide attack on Iraqi police station

A suicide driver blew himself up in a car in front of an Iraqi police station today, causing an undetermined number of casualties, officials said.

Police Colonel Salam Omar said the driver tried to enter the station car park in the town of Baqouba but the guards opened fire and the car exploded.

He said there were no casualties among the police, but it was unclear if passers-by were injured or killed, in addition to the driver.

Omar blamed the attack on “cowardly terrorists.”

Iraqi police and government institutions have been the frequent target of attacks by Iraqi insurgents battling the US led occupation force and its allies.

Last Friday, a bomb near a Shiite Muslim mosque in the town killed five worshippers and injured dozens. A second bomb, rigged inside a car, was found and defused before it could explode at another Shiite mosque.

In November, suicide bomber struck police stations in Baqouba, 40 miles north-east of Baghdad, killing at least three policemen and the driver.