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Suicide bomber kills 45 near Baghdad

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-04-23 21:51

BAGHDAD -- A Suicide bomber blew himself up at a restaurant in the volatile Diyala province on Thursday, killing 45 people and wounding 28 others, an Interior Ministry source said.

US army soldiers from the 4th Engineer Battalion, 225th Engineer Brigade, board a US air force cargo aircraft that will transport them to Afghanistan in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, April 23, 2009. [Agencies]

A suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt inside a restaurant on the main way near the town of Maqdadiyah, some 100 km northeast of Baghdad, killing up to 45 people and wounding 28 others, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Related readings:  US troops in Iraq bound for Afghanistan  Suicide bomber kills 9 Sunni militiamen in Iraq  Suicide blast kills 5 US soldiers, 2 Iraqi police  Iraqi police say female suicide bomber kills 35

The attack took place during the lunch time when dozens of passengers gathered in the restaurant, the source said.

Many of the victims were Iranian pilgrims who used to visit Iraqi Shiite holy sites in Iraq, the source added.

The blast destroyed parts of the restaurant and badly damaged several nearby civilian vehicles, he said.

Also in the day, another suicide bomber struck a crowd of policemen in Baghdad's central district of Karradah, killing 28 people and wounding some 50 others, including policemen who were gathering to distribute aid to displaced families.

Sporadic attacks continue in Iraq despite recent security gains.