Car bomb kills 8 at Iraqi army unit

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Car bomb kills 8 at Iraqi army unit

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A car bomb at an Iraqi army unit Diyala province killed at least eight soldiers on Monday.

14 March,2011 09:22 pm

Suspected Sunni insurgents and Shiite militia have stepped up assaults in recent months on Iraqi policemen and soldiers, seeking to undermine faith in the security forces before a full U.S. military withdrawal by the end of this year.The blast took place near an army headquarters in Kanaan, 70km (45 miles) northeast of Baghdad, killing eight soldiers and wounding 30, Diyalas governor Abdul-Nassir al-Mahdawi said. Security forces foiled a second attack and defused a car bomb parked at the scene, Mahdawi said. A spokeswoman for the governor, Samira al-Shibli, said the bomb was in a parked car. Officials said an army building had been destroyed and other buildings were damaged by the blast.Diyala provincial council gave the casualty figures as 11 dead and 13 wounded. They said the blast was caused by a suicide bomber who blew up a booby-trapped truck near the army headquarters, which is near other government buildings. Diyala is one of few remaining provinces where large numbers of al Qaeda and other Sunni insurgents still battle Iraqi security forces. A volatile mix of minority Kurds, majority Shiites and Sunnis has made it difficult to bring peace to Diyala.Suspected Sunni insurgents and Shiite militia have stepped up assaults in recent months on Iraqi policemen and soldiers, seeking to undermine faith in the security forces before a full U.S. military withdrawal by the end of this year.