Iraq suicide bomb kills 20

Baghdad: A suicide bomber detonated a device in his car yesterday as a group of police recruits left their academy in Baghdad, killing 20 in the latest strike on security officials that residents blamed on political feuding that is roiling Iraq.

Police said the suicide bomber was waiting on the street outside the fortified academy near the Interior Ministry headquarters in an eastern neighbourhood of the Iraqi capital.

As the crowd of recruits exited the compound's security barriers around 1pm and walked into the road, police said the bomber drove towards them and blew up his car.

"We heard a big explosion and the windows of the room shattered," said Haider Mohammad, 44, an employee in the nearby Police Sports Club, about 100 metres from the academy's gate.

Horrific scene

He described a horrific scene of burning cars, scattered pieces of burned flesh and wounded people flattened on the ground.

"Everybody here knows the time when the recruits come and go from the academy," Mohammad said.

"This is a breach of security."

Five policemen were among the dead; the rest were recruits. Another 28 recruits and policemen were wounded.

Officials at three nearby hospitals confirmed the casualties.

Iraq's police are generally considered to be the weakest element of the country's security forces, which are attacked in bombings and drive-by shooting almost every day.