Suicide Attack Kills at Least 16 in Iraq

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Source: NYT

BAGHDAD —A suicide bomber killed at least 16 Iraqi soldiers and officers and wounded dozens more at an airbase in Anbar province west of Baghdad on Thursday, according to army officials and a witness who contradicted public claims by senior commanders that no one died.

It was the second serious attack on security forces in Iraq this week, punctuating a recent spike in deadly episodes.

The officials said the bomber wore a vest or belt laden with explosives, which he detonated inside a mess hall for Iraq’s First Division as soldiers and officers gathered to eat. The initial death toll is expected to rise.

The bombing occurred before lunch at Tamouz Air Base in Habbiniya, one of the largest and oldest military posts in Iraq, established by the British in the 1920’s. The base, on the Euphrates River between Falluja and Ramadi, houses a police academy opened by the American military and the headquarters of the Iraqi Army’s quick-reaction force.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/17/world/middleeast/17iraq.html

[ohio2007]

1. April 28th.

Saddams birthday

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2. Occupation, the gift that keeps on giving. nt