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| Thursday, 06 January 2005 |
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Suicide bomber kills 15 at Iraqi police academy BAGHDAD, Wednesday (Reuters) A suicide car bomber killed at least 15 people at an Iraqi police academy on Wednesday, but Prime Minister Iyad Allawi vowed to stick to his timetable for a Jan. 30 election despite escalating attacks. The bomber barrelled his way into a compound in the town of Hilla, south of Baghdad in a lawless area known as the "Triangle of Death", and blew up his explosives-filled vehicle after coming under heavy fire, police spokesman Hadi Hatif said. The attack was the latest by insurgents targeting Iraq's U.S.-backed interim government and its fledgling security services in a bloody campaign to sabotage the election. It came a day after gunmen assassinated Baghdad's provincial governor and a suicide truck bomber killed 11 people outside a police commando headquarters, a surge of violence that drew fresh calls for delaying the national ballot. "The government is committed to running the elections on schedule," Allawi told a news conference. "We know some Iraqis fear voting, but we have to overcome those fears." He insisted he had a plan to safeguard voters but gave few details except to say more Iraqi troops would be sent to the northern Sunni city of Mosul, the scene of deadly attacks. But raging violence has shattered trust in home-grown security forces that hardly seem able to protect themselves. A hospital official in Hilla, 100 km (62 miles) from Baghdad, said at least 15 people were killed, including nine policemen, and 25 wounded in the bombing at the police academy, which had been due to hold a graduation ceremony. |
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