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A resident cries near a damaged vehicle at the site of a suicide bomb attack - Source: Reuters
A suicide bomber wearing a vest packed with explosives killed four police officers in Saddam Hussein's hometown, including the head of the city's anti-riot squad, Iraqi police said.
The attack in a crowded street appeared to target Lieutenant
Colonel Ahmed Subhi al-Fahal, the commander of the riot police in
Tikrit, 150 km north of Baghdad, police said.
The three other victims were Fahal's bodyguards, who were
accompanying him while he shopped.
Seven civilians were wounded.
Violence in Iraq has fallen to its lowest levels since the 2003
US-led invasion.
Eighty-eight civilians were killed in violence in November, the
first time the monthly bodycount fell below 100 in more than
six-1/2 years.
But suspected Sunni Islamists such as al Qaeda continue to stage
regular attacks, including devastating suicide bombings against
government buildings in Baghdad on October 25 and August 19 in
which almost 250 people died.
Tikrit was the hometown of Sunni dictator Saddam, ousted in the
2003 invasion. It remained volatile until the beginning of this
year when security incidents began to subside.
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