Top of the Agenda: Suicide Bomb Hits Iraqi Army Recruits
At least sixty Iraqi army recruits and soldiers (Guardian) were killed in a suicide bombing outside an army base in Baghdad. The site, a former headquarters of the ministry of defense, receives about 250 new recruits each week. Military spokesman Major General Qassim al-Moussawi said as many as one thousand army recruits were at the site on the last day for soldiers to sign up at the unit. Iraqi security forces are preparing for a U.S. troop drawdown later this month, shifting the military's focus from combat operations to training Iraqi security forces. Al-Moussawi said the blast was caused by a single suicide bomber who detonated his vest among the crowd, and he blamed al-Qaeda for recruiting the bomber.
The attack is the first major bombing in Baghdad (NYT) during this year's Muslim month of Ramadan. The incident also came one day after one of the two main contenders in Iraq's March election suspended talks on forming a coalition (BBC). No one claimed immediate responsibility.
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