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Car bomb kills 20 in Kirkuk, Iraq
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-09-18 16:13

A suicide attacker detonated a car bomb near a crowd of people waiting to apply for jobs with the Iraqi National Guard in the northern city of Kirkuk on Saturday, killing at least 20 people, officials said.

An Iraqi fireman runs next to a burning car, following an explosion near a police station in Rashid Street in central Baghdad, September 17, 2004. [Reuters]

The street outside the guard headquarters was littered with bloodied bodies, debris and shards of glass. Ambulances with sirens wailing rushed to the site of the explosion and firefighters doused flames leaping up from a burning car.

Kirkuk's National Guard chief, Maj. Gen Anwar Mohammed Amin, said at least 20 died and 16 were wounded in the attack.

"I saw a speeding car crossing an open field heading toward the would-be recruits, then there was a huge explosion and a big fire," said Asu Ahmed, a street vendor. "There were many dead and injured people and I helped put them in ambulances."

Maj. Thomas Williams, as spokesman for the Army's 2nd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, said there were no American casualties.

Initial reports indicated that the victims were civilians and that no national guardsmen were killed or wounded, Williams said. He said guardsmen opened fire as the suicide attacker sped toward the building before the car blew up.

"This a terrorist act and all the victims are young Iraqis who just wanted to make living by joining the Iraqi National Guard," said police Col. Sarhat Qadir.

The Iraqi National Guard is the centerpiece of U.S.-backed efforts to build a strong Iraqi security force capable of taking over security operations in many towns and cities from American troops before January elections.

A wave of bombings, mortar attacks and shooting sprees targeting police forces and potential recruits has killed hundreds of people nationwide.

Saturday's attack was the third car bombing against the beleaguered Iraqi security forces this week. On Friday, a suicide attacker rammed an explosives-packed vehicle into a row of police cars in the capital, killing at least three, days after a car bomb near a Baghdad police station left dozens dead.

In Baghdad, meanwhile, a roadside bomb exploded in a small sidestreet Saturday, killing one man and seriously wounding two in a passing car, police and witnesses said.

The blast in Baghdad's Karradah neighborhood, a main shopping and commercial district, almost completely destroyed the blue Peugeot car.

Residents identified the three casualties as Iraqis who worked as security guards at the nearby al-Sadir Hotel, a heavily fortified complex where U.S. civilian contractors and other Westerners involved in Iraq's reconstruction effort are known to live and work.

The three men were wearing uniforms, body armor and carrying assault rifles, according to the witnesses.

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