Suicide bomb In Iraq kills 15 people, wounds 30 others

Residents of the northern Iraqi city of Balad were on Tuesday assessing the damage caused by a suicide bomb the previous day.
Police said the blast killed 15 people and wounded 30 others.

According to police and eyewitnesses, a suicide bomber detonated his explosive belt at a cafe in Balad, which is 80 kilometers (60 miles) north of Baghdad.

"A suicide bomber blew himself up yesterday, killing or wounding several people, most of them old men," said eyewitness Abu Hassan, showing some of the victims' clothes.

The suicide bombing was among three blasts in central and western Iraq on Monday evening.

About two hours later, six people were killed and 17 wounded in a blast near a restaurant in the city of Baqouba, 60 kilometers (35 miles) northeast of Baghdad.

And late at night, a suicide car bomber drove his vehicle into an army checkpoint near the city of Fallujah, killing five soldiers, according to police officials.

Fallujah, a former al-Qaeda stronghold, is 65 kilometers (40 miles) west of Baghdad.

They were the latest attacks in a months-long surge of violence.

The violence has raised fears that Iraq could be returning to widespread sectarian killings similar to those that brought the country to the edge of civil war in 2006 and 2007.


AP