Suicide bomber kills 23 Iraqi army recruits -police

BAGHDAD, July 8 (Reuters) A suicide truck bomber killed 23 new Iraqi army recruits and wounded 27 others today when he rammed into their truck while they were travelling on a road south of Baghdad, police and an army official said.

They said the incident took place near the town of Haswa.

The recruits were Sunni Arabs from western Anbar province who had just joined Iraq's security forces. They had been at a recruitment centre in the town of Falluja earlier in the day.

Tribal leaders in Anbar have rounded up thousands of young men to join local security forces to fight Sunni Islamist al Qaeda in the province.

Tribal elders turned against the militant group last year, partly over its indiscriminate killing of civilians and harsh imposition of Islam in the areas it holds sway.

That has forced many al Qaeda militants out of Anbar, but others have fought back, sparking a bloody power struggle in the vast desert province.

REUTERS PD MIR KP1650