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Iraq Suicide Bomber Kills 18

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 22, 2008

BAGHDAD - A suicide bomber apparently targeting a senior security official blew himself up inside a funeral tent Monday, killing 18 people in the latest of a series of deadly attacks that are chipping away at the notion of a calmer Iraq.

The U.S. military has repeatedly warned that the fight against insurgents is not over.

Monday's bombing in a village north of Baghdad was the third in as many days in Sunni Arab areas that were thought to have been largely rid of al-Qaida militants.

There was no claim of responsibility for the bombing in Hajaj, a village about midway along nearly 20 miles between Saddam Hussein's home town of Tikrit and the oil hub of Beiji, 155 miles north of Baghdad. However, police said that it bore the hallmarks of an al-Qaida attack.

Witnesses said that about 70 people were inside the tent when the attacker set off his explosives soon after entering.

Officials said that the bomber's target appeared to be Ahmed Abdullah, deputy governor of security for Salahuddin province, of which Tikrit is the capital. Abdullah escaped unharmed, officials said.

The Associated Press

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