Iraqi army recruits killed in twin suicide bombing
Army recruits targeted in latest bombing
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Tuesday, 15, Jul 2008 10:28
Dozens of army recruits have been killed in a twin suicide bombing attack in Iraq.
The attack took place in Baquba, the main town in unstable Diyala province, to the north-east of the country's capital Baghdad.
Up to 70 people have been injured and 35 killed in the attack, which took place at around 08:00 local time (06:00 BST) this morning.
Two men wearing explosives strapped to their bodies entered the crowd and detonated themselves 30 seconds apart. Both were men.
The incident follows a string of attacks in Baquba. Diyala province is set to be the scene of an impending major military operation against Shia militias following coalition offensives in Sadr City, Basra and Amara.
Despite these bombings overall levels of violence in Iraq have fallen recently. Army recruitment drives for Iraqi forces are going well, with hundreds of new officers joining the Iraqi army and air force in a separate passing out ceremony at the Iraqi Military Academy in Rustamiyah yesterday
US presidential aspirant Barack Obama, the presumptive Democrat nominee, is maintaining his preference for a quick exit from Iraq in the run-up to the election on November 4th.
"Unlike Senator [John] McCain [his Republican rival], I would make it absolutely clear that we seek no presence in Iraq similar to our permanent bases in South Korea, and would redeploy our troops out of Iraq and focus on the broader security challenges that we face," he wrote in a New York Times editorial yesterday.
"But for far too long, those responsible for the greatest strategic blunder in the recent history of American foreign policy have ignored useful debate in favour of making false charges about flip-flops and surrender. It's not going to work this time. It's time to end this war."
Defence secretary Robert Gates has made clear leaders will not rush into preparing a timetable for troop withdrawals, however.
"We are reaching that period of time when the post-surge assessment will be done," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said yesterday.
"Commanders are out there doing the work every day and have their eyes on the security situation. They are the ones who should be making the judgment on what the way forward should be, and they will be making their recommendations through the chain of command."
The last surge brigade combat team will leave Iraq by the end of this month.