12 killed in Iraq blast

BAGHDAD - At least 12 people were killed and 20 injured when a suicide bomber struck in the western Iraqi city of Ramadi Thursday, police told DPA.

The attack took place at a checkpoint near government offices in the city, the capital of the predominantly Sunni province of al-Anbar, police said, adding that six of those killed were policemen.

The site of the blast was also close to the offices of a local Sahwa, or “Awakening”, militia allied with the government.

Iraqi and US officials credit the Sahwa militias for helping to restore quiet in the area, which was formerly the site of intense fighting between insurgents and US forces, in recent years.

Thursday’s blast was the deadliest in the city since a December attack on the government offices there left two dozen dead and scores injured, including the governor of al-Anbar province.

Tensions in Iraq have been particularly high in the weeks ahead of the March 7 elections, particularly following controversy over whether some 500 would-be candidates originally excluded from the polls for their alleged ties to the banned former ruling Baath Party should be allowed to run.

Last week the Islamic State of Iraq, an umbrella group of Sunni, Islamist insurgent groups including Al Qaeda’s Iraqi branch, threatened “military, media and psychological preparation in response to the … dangerous theatrical play called ‘parliamentary

elections’”, according to a translation provided by the US-based SITE intelligence monitoring service.