Suicide bomber kills 3 Iraqi officers in Tikrit

Tikrit, Iraq, May 6 : A suicide bomber wearing Iraqi army uniform detonated his explosives vest inside an Iraqi military base north of Baghdad today, killing three army officers, Interior Ministry sources and police said.

The officers killed were a colonel, a major and a lieutenant. A lieutenant-colonel was also wounded in the attack in Tikrit, 175 km north of Baghdad, the latest insurgent strike against US-trained security forces.

Building a strong and competent Iraqi army to fight an insurgency and sectarian violence is key to Washington's plans to begin withdrawing its 130,000 troops in Iraq.

Insurgents have stepped up attacks against the US-trained security forces, frequently targeting recruiting centres.

Suicide bombers have disguised themselves as soldiers or policemen before in their attacks.

A suicide bomber wearing an army uniform killed at least 26 people last June at an army mess hall north of the capital. In December 2004, another suicide bomber also wearing Iraqi uniform killed 22 people, most of them Americans, at a US military mess tent in the northern city of Mosul.

Reuters

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