At least 58 killed by bomber at Iraq army recruiting centre (Roundup)

Aug 17, 2010, 15:38 GMT

Baghdad - At least 58 people were killed early Tuesday when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside an Iraqi army recruiting centre in Baghdad, officials were quoted by local media as saying.

The blast, which appeared to be targeting soldiers, police and new or potential recruits, also injured at least 130 people.

According to witnesses, the centre had been open for the last week and the final day of recruitment was scheduled for Wednesday, causing a larger than usual number of people to be in the location at the time of the attack.

Security forces have increasingly been coming under attack from insurgents in recent months, as the United States starts to wind down its presence in Iraq.

The US military, which led the invasion in 2003, remains on track to end major combat operations in Iraq by the end of this month and reduce its presence to about 50,000 soldiers. All US forces are scheduled to be out of Iraq by the end of 2011, the White House has confirmed.

Tuesday's bomber was believed to have been dressed in a military uniform when he blew himself up at the centre, which housed the Ministry of Defence during the rule of Saddam Hussein's Baath party.

The method of the attack bears the marks of al-Qaeda, Baghdad security chief Qassem Atta said on al-Arabiya regional television.

Atta also said that the bomber was not Iraqi.

Police cordoned off the area of the attack quickly and have released few details.

Meanwhile, further attacks took place across the country. A man who worked in a prison was shot and killed by gunmen near his home in the northern city of Mosul, according to police.

In eastern Mosul the corpses of a man and a woman, both unidentified, were found. Police said both victims had suffered multiple bullet wounds.

Two policemen and one civilian were seriously injured by a bomb targeting a police patrol in Abu Ghraib, just west of Baghdad.

An al-Qaeda leader named Abduljaffar al-Juhaishy was arrested by security forces during a raid in the village of al-Juhaishat in Iraq's Waset governorate, security sources said.

Al-Juhaishy is wanted for suspected involvement in the bombing of a local marketplace in 2007.