Suicide car bomber hits Baghdad police HQ, 25 killed

BAGHDAD, Mar 23 (Reuters) At least 25 people, most of them policemen, were killed when a suicide car bomber blew himself up outside the headquarters of the Iraqi police's major crimes unit in Baghdad, the Interior Ministry said.

The ministry said the car bomber had stopped at the first checkpoint and was having his vehicle checked for explosives when he detonated the bomb.

Twenty-five people were killed, including at least 10 policemen, and 32 wounded, the ministry said.

Earlier, another police official said the car bomber had driven at high speed into the checkpoint.

Sunni Arab insurgents fighting to topple the US-backed government target Iraqi security forces on a daily basis, ambushing police and army patrols with car bombs and makeshift explosives planted on the roadside.

REUTERS DKS BD1838