Suicide Bombers Kill At Least 15, Wounds 85 In Iraq
A suicide bomber drove a car packed with explosives inside the headquarters of the Service Protection Force in the heart of the provincial capital of Baquba during the morning practice, according to police officials in Baquba and Baghdad .
FPS is the Iraqi security agency responsible for protecting the country with the government.
South of Baquba, a suicide bomber wearing a vest packed with explosives exploded near a convoy carrying the deputy head of Diyala provincial council, the Sadiq al-Husseini, police said. The attack in Al-Ghalbiya killed at least two people and injured 15 others, including al-Husseini.
Al-Husseini convoy was traveling with a procession of Shiite pilgrims who made a four-day trip on foot to Karbala for Arbaeen, a religious observance that falls after 40 days of mourning for Imam Hussein, grand son of Prophet Muhammad who was killed in a seventh century battle in the Iraqi city.
The two dead and several wounded were pilgrims.
Thousands of Shiites who make their way to Karbala, and the fear of further bloodshed before Arbaeen commemoration of next week.
The bloody attacks came a day after a suicide bomber wearing a vest packed with explosives exploded at a police recruiting in Salaheddin province, also in northern Iraq. This strike has killed at least 65 people and wounding 160.
Five others - all Shiite pilgrims - were wounded in separate attacks Tuesday in Taji, north of Baghdad.
Diyala, which used to be a stronghold of Al Qaeda until 2008 when Iraqi security forces backed by U.S. troops conducted a series of major military operations in the province to push the militants.
Awakening Councils in the province also played an important role to hunt down fighters of Al Qaeda in the province. Awakening Councils, whose members are mostly Sunni, have been recruited by the U.S. military to work against Al Qaeda in Iraq and other militias.