Suicide bomber kills nine in Iraq

The attack occurred around 11:30 am in front of a courthouse in downtown Baqouba, the provincial capital of Diyala, one of Iraq’s most violent areas, a police official said.

“We were inside the court building when we heard a thunderous explosion followed by people’s cries,” said Abu Mohammed, a 55-year-old lawyer in the courthouse at the time. “We rushed outside the building. We couldn’t see anything because smoke was everywhere.”

Officials with Diyala provincial securities headquarters, speaking on condition of anonymity because they lacked authorisation to speak to the press, said nine people were killed and 21 injured.

Dr. Ahmed Fuad, the director of Baqouba’s main morgue, said he received the bodies of the nine people killed in the blast. He said they included three civilians, five Iraqi army soldiers and one policeman.

Abu Mohammed, who would only give his nickname for security reasons, said the target appeared to be Iraqi army Humvees parked nearby. He said about five shops in front of the courthouse were damaged.

Baqouba is a former al-Qaida in Iraq stronghold 35 miles (60 kilometres) northeast of Baghdad. It saw some of the fiercest fighting of the US-led war until local Sunni tribal leaders fed up with the terror network’s brutal tactics joined forces with the US military against it last year.

Despite the security gains, there have been repeated attacks in the area near the central courthouse, which along with the provincial governor’s office is inside a walled compound. A car bomb on April 15 killed about 40 people just outside of the compound.