Suicide bomber kills 15

2008-08-17 22:15

Baghdad - A suicide bomber blew himself up near a mosque in a Sunni Arab bastion of Baghdad on Sunday, killing at least 15 people and wounding 30, security officials told AFP.

The bomber detonated his explosives vest at a checkpoint near the revered Sunni Abu Hanifa mosque in northern Baghdad's Adhamiyah district, the officials and an AFP correspondent at the site said.

A security official with the Interior Ministry said the bomber was riding a bicycle when he detonated his vest, while witnesses told the AFP correspondent that he was dressed as a woman.

The checkpoint was manned by local Sunni Arabs who were members of a group fighting al-Qaeda militants, the correspondent said.

Those killed included Faruq al-Obeidi, a local leader of the anti-Qaeda group, six of his bodyguards and eight civilians, security officials said.

The wounded included five women, they added.

Al-Qaeda has regularly carried out attacks against these so-called "Awakening" groups which are supported by the US military to fight extremists.

Abu Hanifa mosque is one of the most revered Sunni mosques in Baghdad and was the site where now executed dictator Saddam Hussein made his last public appearance before being toppled by US invasion troops in April 2003.

- AFP