11 KILLED IN SUICIDE BOMB ATTACK ON IRAQI POLICE STATION
Baku, August 25 (AZERTAC). At least 11 people were killed and 34 others wounded when a suicide car bomber hit a police station in northeast Baghdad Wednesday morning, the interior ministry said.
Among the casualties were police officers, the ministry said.
The attack damaged the al-Qahira police station building, along with several other buildings and houses nearby.
It was one of several attacks throughout Iraq on Wednesday, officials said:
Two roadside bombs exploded in central Baghdad and wounded five people
The chief of Facility Protection Services in Samarra was seriously hurt when two bombs went off in quick succession as his convoy passed by in central Samarra -- about 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of Baghdad. The service is in charge of providing security protection to government institutions.
A car bomb exploded near a police station in al-Ashar commercial area in central Basra and wounded nine people.
Overall violence in Iraq has declined considerably over the past two years compared to the height of the sectarian war between 2005 and 2007, but security remains an issue in Iraq as U.S. combat troops depart the country.
The number of U.S. troops in Iraq has now fallen below 50,000 -- the lowest level since the U.S-led invasion in 2003, the military said Tuesday.
At the same time, Iraqi officials have noted a recent campaign of bombings and shootings in Baghdad targeting traffic police, Iraqi soldiers and local leaders.
