Suicide bomber targets women, children in Baghdad park

BAGHDAD, Oct 15 (Reuters) A suicide car bomber killed four people and wounded 25, mostly women and children, in a public park in western Baghdad today, police said.

The attack in the religiously mixed Harthiya district came on the final day of the Eid el-Fitr holiday, when many families had taken advantage of the improved security in the Iraqi capital and the good weather to venture outside.

Police said the bomber parked at the entrance to the garden and then blew himself up as families were leaving to go home at the end of the day.

There was no claim of responsibility for the bombing but Sunni Islamist al Qaeda had vowed to step up attacks during the holy fasting month of Ramadan which preceded the Eid holiday.

REUTERS RSA RN2352