Iraqi schoolgirl caught with bomb vest

A 15-year-old Iraqi girl caught with a suicide vest said she was fitted with the explosives by a woman she did not know.

Police said the girl, called Rania, was caught yesterday when she approached a checkpoint in Baghdad with a wire sticking out of her black robe.

The girl appeared confused as police pressed her for a confession in a videotape broadcast today, but denied plans to blow herself up.

The number of female suicide bombers in Iraq has more than tripled over the past year.