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Summary A suicide bomber blew himself up in front of a police academy, killing 20 people and wounding 21
A suicide bomber detonated his car Sunday as a group of police recruits left their academy in Baghdad, killing 20 in the latest strike on security officials that angry residents blamed on political feuding that is roiling Iraq.Police said the suicide bomber was waiting on the street outside the fortified academy near the Interior Ministry in an eastern neighborhood in the Iraqi capital. As the crowd of recruits exited the compounds security barriers around 1 p.m. and walked into the road, police said the bomber drove toward them and blew up his car.We heard a big explosion and the windows of the room shattered, said Haider Mohammed, 44, an employee in the nearby Police Sports Club, about 100 yards (metres) from the academys gate. He described a horrific scene of burning cars, scattered pieces of burned flesh and wounded people flattened on the ground.Everybody here knows the time when the recruits come and go from the academy, Mohammed said. This is a breach of security.Five policemen were among the dead; the rest were recruits. Another 28 recruits and policemen were wounded.Officials at three nearby hospitals confirmed the casualties.All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.Iraqs police are generally considered to be the weakest element of the countrys security forces, which are attacked in bombings and drive-by shootings almost every day. The last big assault on police came in October, when 25 people were killed in a string of attacks that included two bombers slamming explosives-packed cars into police stations.Recruits, too, are a favorite target. Suicide bombers killed scores of young men lined up for security jobs at training centers in Baghdad and the northern city of Tikrit in recent years. The public outcry that followed from lawmakers and residents after those attacks spurred the government to bolster training and recruiting centers with better protection.But, as Sundays attacks showed, extremists are easily able to sidestep security measures. At Baghdads police academy, recruits generally are escorted out of the compound to ensure their safety. But once they get to the street outside, they are on their own.It was at that point that the bomber struck on Sunday. The group of recruits had left the compounds barrier gates and were crossing the road to hail a taxi or bus ride home after finishing a two-week training course.
