43 killed in Baghdad suicide bombing

Baghdad, July 18(ANI): A suicide bomber killed at least 43 people and wounded 40 others in an attack in Baghdad on Sunday.

According to reports, the attacker targeted members of the Awakening Council, former Sunni militants who now back the Iraqi government, as they waited to receive paychecks.

Several Iraqi army soldiers were also among the casualties, the Xinhua news agency reports.

The militia was recruited by the US military to target fellow Sunnis who are members of Al-Qaeda in Iraq.

The Sunni militia fighters, known as the Sahwa or Awakening Councils, were once allied with Al-Qaeda, but turned against the militant group in 2006.

Many of the group's members complain that their state support is now evaporating as the US military is focused on its withdrawal and Iraqi politicians continue to wrangle over coalition negotiations. (ANI)