Suicide car bomber kills 12 north of Baghdad

Baghdad, Feb 21 (AP) A suicide attacker detonated acar bomb today at a police station north of Baghdad, killingat least 12 police officers, police and health officials said.

The attack in Samarra, 60 miles (95 kilometers) northof Baghdad, comes nine days after a suicide bomber targetedShiite pilgrims returning from a religious ceremony at thecity''s al-Askari mosque. Thirty-six were killed in thatattack.

Today''s bombing also wounded at least 22 people,according to two police officers and hospital official.

The police battalion that came under attack had beendispatched from a southern Shiite province two weeks ago tohelp protect pilgrims during the ceremony, said Niyaz Oglu, amember of the area''s provincial council.

Oglu accused al-Qaida in Iraq of organizing theattack.

"They are taking revenge on the security forces thathave foiled their attempts to ignite sectarian violence," hesaid.

No group claimed responsibility for today''s bombing,but such attacks bear the hallmarks of al-Qaida or its allied,Sunni-dominated militant organizations who consider Shiites tobe heretics and enemies. (AP)