A suicide bomber said to have been sent by Al Qaida blew himself up
outside an Iraq Army office near Baghdad on July 18. Officials said at least
52 people, most of them lined up to receive their monthly salaries, were
killed.
The attack took place in Radwaniya, located west of Baghdad, Middle East Newsline reported. Officials
said most of the casualties were members of the U.S.-sponsored Al Sahwa
auxiliary police force, formed to fight Al Qaida.
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Officials said at least 40 of the casualties were Sahwa personnel, with
two army soldiers also killed. They said the Al Qaida in Iraq, or AQI,
network was believed responsible for the strike.
A Sahwa commander, Mohammed Al Anbari, did not rule out that Al Qaida
recruited a member of the force to attack his colleages. Al Anbari said no
strangers had been seen waiting on line for their paychecks.
In a second strike, a suicide bomber blew himself up during a meeting of
Sahwa commanders in the Anbar province near the border with Syria. No other
information was released.
The suicide bombings took place amid an Iraqi offensive against AQI in
the north. On July 16, security forces were said to have arrested 17
suspected insurgents in an operation near the village of Biaj.
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