Fuel truck bomb damages Iraq bridge, kills 2

BAGHDAD, Aug 14 (Reuters) A suicide truck bomb killed two people, wounded five and badly damaged a bridge linking Baghdad to northern Iraq today, Iraqi security forces said.

Part of the bridge collapsed in the attack near Taiji, in which a fuel tanker was used.

One side of the bridge, which links the capital to northern Iraq, was badly damaged in a previous bombing on May 11 and traffic was using the remaining lanes when the bomber struck.

In the past three months, bridges have become a common target for attacks by militants, many of which US forces blame on Sunni Islamist al Qaeda.

Tens of thousands of US and Iraqi troops have been engaged in a security crackdown in and around Baghdad in an attempt to buy time for Iraq's fractured government to reach a series of political goals aimed at promoting national reconciliation.

REUTERS SBC KP1616