Foreigners 'behind most Iraq suicide attacks'

The vast majority of suicide attackers in Iraq are thought to be foreigners - mostly Saudis and other Gulf Arabs – and the trend has become more pronounced this year with North Africans also streaming in to carry out deadly missions, US and Iraqi officials say.

The bombers are recruited from Sunni communities, smuggled into Iraq from Syria after receiving religious indoctrination, and then quickly bundled into cars or strapped with explosive vests and sent to their deaths, the officials told The Associated Press.