Car Bomb at Iraqi Police Station Kills at Least 17
A car bomb explosion at a police station west of Baghdad on Sunday killed at least 17 people and injured 33 others, a U.S. military officer said. A homicide bomber was apparently responsible for the attack, U.S. army Lt. Col. Jeff Swisher said. "About 8:30 (a.m.), a car bomb was detonated at Khaldiyah police station. We have some indication that it's a homicide bomber. But it's too early to give a final judgment," Swisher told reporters at the scene. The car bombing killed police officers, city workers and civilian bystanders. An emergency room administrator at a hospital in the nearby city of Ramadi put the toll even higher, at 21 people killed and more than 20 injured. No American soldiers were in the area when the bomb exploded and none were hurt in the blast. U.S. troops arriving on the scene blocked off the area and two helicopters hovered overhead. U.S. soldiers and Iraqi police later surveyed the site of the blast, which left a huge crater in the road and collapsed a large section of the building's front wall. Several destroyed cars were scattered in the street nearby. |