Bomb kills 10 at Kirkuk police station

By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer

KIRKUK, Iraq — Ten people were killed and 45 were wounded this morning in the first suicide bomb attack against an Iraqi police station in this northern city.

Maj. Jim Hanson of 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry, surveys wreckage surrounding a police station in Kirkuk after it was hit by a suicide bomber this morning. Ten people were killed in the attack.

An Iraqi police officer stands guard outside his police station where his fellow officers were killed by a suicide bomber.

The suicide car bomber hit the Rahimawa Police Station in northeastern Kirkuk at 8:05 a.m. during a shift change. Photos by Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser

No U.S. soldiers were injured.

The 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment from Schofield Barracks took over patrols of the oil-producing city of nearly 1 million people last week.

The attack was the latest in a string of vehicle and suicide bombings against Iraqi security forces and others seen as cooperating with the U.S.-led occupation, killing more than 300 people this year.

25th Infantry Division (Light) officials said they expect more attacks against police and other targets in Kirkuk as a way of deterring Iraqis from aiding U.S. stabilization and reconstruction efforts.

The suicide car bomber hit the Rahimawa Police Station in northeastern Kirkuk at 8:05 a.m. during a shift change, officials said.

The white Oldsmobile followed two police vehicles into a large parking area in front of the two-story building. When police went to check on the vehicle, the bomb was detonated.

The police station falls within B Company's area of responsibility. Schofield 2nd Brigade officials and Air Force Explosive Ordnance Disposal personnel were at the scene investigating the blast.

The suicide bomb exploded about 40 feet outside double iron gates, destroying five police vehicles and knocking out the station's windows and front door.

The blast created a five-foot crater several inches deep, and oily debris and car parts were the only remnants of the bomber's car.

Several black police berets and shredded pieces of uniforms were scattered on the ground.

Nawa Ahmed, a 24-year-old police officer, said he knew all of the dead police officers. Three were burned to the bone, he said.

"All of these guys are our dear friends and we lost them," Ahmed said through an interpreter. "Death can happen to us every day, too."

Ahmed said U.S. forces were told to expect something like this to happen. Ahmed said he wants barriers to be put up outside the police station to prevent civilian vehicles from entering the compound and a repeat of the attack.

U.S. officials have said foreign Islamic militants may be behind the bloody series of bombings, pointing to an intercepted letter believed to be from a Jordanian militant in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, to al-Qaida leaders in Pakistan or Afghanistan.

The letter, made public by the military this month, outlined a strategy of attacks aimed at derailing U.S. plans to hand over power to Iraqis on June 30. It said insurgents would target Iraqi "collaborators," as well as Iraq's Shiite Muslim majority in an attempt to spark a Sunni-Shiite civil war.

Some military officials, however, have pointed to Iraqis loyal to the ousted regime of Saddam Hussein as possibly behind the attacks.

Guerrillas have been waging a campaign of shootings and roadside bombings against U.S, troops, particularly in the so-called "Sunni Triangle" in central Iraq where Saddam had strong support.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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