Suicide bomber kills 35 in Iraq

A suicide bomber rammed his 4X4 vehicle packed with artillery shells into a crowd of Iraqi army volunteers in Baghdad today, and the massive explosion that followed killed at least 35 people and wounding 138.

Another car bomb north of the capital killed six members of the Iraqi security forces.

The Baghdad blast, the deadliest attack since a bombing outside another recruiting centre in February, was part of a surge of violence on coalition forces and their Iraqi allies ahead of the transfer of sovereignty on June 30.

The blast scattered bodies and debris across a four-lane road outside Baghdad’s Muthanna airport, which is used as a base by both the Iraqi Civil Defence Corps and the US military.

The explosion could be heard for several miles and sent a cloud of smoke over the city.

Iraq’s interior minister said he believed an al-Qaida-linked militant, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was connected to the bombing.

No American or Iraqi troops were wounded, said US Colonel Mike Murray said. Most of the victims appeared to be poor Iraqis hoping to join the security forces because job opportunities elsewhere are limited.

“This clearly again was an attack that has hurt the Iraqi people,” Murray said.

A top US military official said the bombing appeared to fit a new pattern from al-Zarqawi’s terror network: simpler, more frequent car bombings to shake confidence in Iraqi security forces ahead of the hand over.

Asked if he saw al-Zarqawi’s hand in the attack, interim Interior Minister Falah Hassan al-Naqib said “I think there is some links.”

“We are quite sure and confident they are not Iraqis,” al-Naqib said. “And we have very good indications that they came from abroad.”

Al-Naqib said that one of al-Zarqawi’s aides had been arrested, though he didn’t say, who, where or when.

Many of the Baghdad victims had just got off a bus and were with about 100 volunteers were trying to enter the recruiting centre when the white 4X4 crashed into the crowd, said ICDC Captain Hani Hussein.

Another 175 Iraqis already accepted into the security force were inside the gate of the facility, but none of them was injured.

“We were standing waiting for our turn to register,” Rafid Mudhar said from his hospital bed. “All of a sudden, we heard big explosion and most of those standing fell on the ground including me.”

He said he was unconscious for a while, then managed to reach an ambulance.

Bloody bodies covered in dust were scattered around the blast site. One dead man lay prostrate in the centre of the road.

An artillery shell could be seen lying on the road. Insurgents in Iraq often fashion bombs out of artillery shells and other military ordnance.

At least 35 people died and 138 were injured and the toll was likely to increase, health ministry official Saad al-Amili said.

The bombing was the bloodiest single attack since a car bomb killed 47 people on February 11, also outside an army recruiting centre in Baghdad.

Surrounded by Western security guards and Iraqi police, interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi visited the scene and described it as a “cowardly attack.”

“We are going to face these escalations,” he said. “The Iraqi people are going to prevail and the government of Iraq is determined to go ahead in confronting the enemies, whether they are here in Iraq or whether they are anywhere else in the world.”

Yas Khudair, an ICDC member, said all the victims were ”poor people” who “wanted to volunteer to support their families.”

Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the string of recent attacks would not affect the handover of sovereignty.

“The terrorists used to justify their terror saying it was against the occupation. The occupation is going to end in 12 days timenow the terrorists appear to be trying to stop the transfer of power to the Iraqi people themselves.

“We and the Iraqi people will not be deterred. The transfer of power will take place. Iraqis will take control of their lives,” he said.

Another car bomb exploded later in the day in a village near Balad, 50 miles north of Baghdad, killing six ICDC members and injuring four others.