A female suicide bomber blew herself up as she approached US-allied Sunni fighters walking in a crowded area north of Baghdad on Thursday, killing at least eight members of the group and wounding 24 other people, police said.
The attack in Baqubah came as the US-backed Iraqi military prepared to expand operations in Diyala Province, of which Baqubah is the capital — the latest bid to tame the last major insurgent belt north of Baghdad.
The woman, who was shrouded in a traditional black Islamic robe, detonated her explosives belt at about 8:30pm as she approached the group of awakening council guards in the central New Baqubah area, a police officer said.
The officer, who read the police bombing report but spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to release the information, and witnesses said the local awakening council chief Naaim al-Duliami was killed along with seven of his bodyguards.
The US military in northern Iraq said troops were investigating the bombing and it could not immediately confirm the attacker was a woman.
The US military has credited the Sunni turn against al-Qaeda as a key factor in driving down violence to its lowest point in more than four years — along with a US troop buildup and a ceasefire declared by anti-US cleric Moqtada al-Sadr for his Shiite militia.
Members of the groups have frequently been targeted by al-Qaeda in Iraq and other insurgents seeking to derail the security gains.
Earlier on Thursday, gunmen also killed three awakening council members in multiple drive-by shootings against military and police checkpoints in the Sunni neighborhood of Azamiyah in northern Baghdad, a leading member of the group who also declined to be identified because of security concerns said.
Baqubah and other areas in Diyala have been hit by several high-profile bombings in recent months as Sunni Arab insurgents show they retain the ability to cause mass casualties.
Two suicide bombers struck army recruits at a military camp in the city a week ago on Tuesday, killing at least 28 people and wounding 57.
Insurgents also have increasingly been using women to stage suicide bombings in the area in a bid to avoid stepped up security measures. Women are more easily able to hide the explosives under their all-encompassing cloaks and they are often not searched at checkpoints.
Laying the groundwork for the expected new Diyala offensive, US soldiers of the 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment searched caves and blew up suspected hideouts believed used by al-Qaeda in Iraq this week near the mountain town of Qara Tappah, about 80km northeast of Baqubah.
They also checked IDs of adult males in each house and detained some on suspicion of being al-Qaeda operatives as part of the sweep dubbed “Operation Cat’s Eye.”
US commanders have said they would assist Iraq’s government in pursuing the offensive against militants who are trying to regroup in the area.
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