Bomber on bicycle kills 29

Victims said the attack appeared to be an inside job.

BAGHDAD (AP) — A suicide bomber rode his bicycle into a crowd of police recruits in Baqouba on Monday, killing at least 29 people in a province that has become a battleground among U.S. forces, al-Qaida militants and Shiite radicals.

A group of Shiite and Sunni clerics, meanwhile, were rescued one day after they were kidnapped in the capital after meeting with the government to discuss how to coordinate efforts against al-Qaida in Iraq.

In a reflection of the extraordinary complexity of Iraq, the U.S. military blamed a Shiite militant for the kidnapping, in which one of the sheiks was said to have been killed. The military did not reveal its evidence, but has claimed that so-called rogue Shiite groups are doing everything possible to stop Iraqis from joining U.S. forces — even in the fight against the Sunni al-Qaida in Iraq.

Suicide bombings, viewed most often as the work of al-Qaida, have taken a mighty toll among police and army recruits and are carried out to discourage Iraqi men from joining the country’s struggling security forces.

Police and hospital officials reported at least 19 people wounded in the attack in Baqouba, the capital of Diyala province 35 miles northeast of Baghdad. Mohammed al-Kirrawi, a doctor at the Baqouba general hospital, said most of the victims were struck by ball bearings packed in the bomber’s suicide vest and that the hospital lacked equipment to save many of the wounded.

One of the wounded recruits told The Associated Press he decided to join the police force only after his father was killed in sectarian violence and he was left as the large family’s sole provider.

“This was an al-Qaida operation, and they were after both Shiites and Sunnis,” said Saadulden Mohammed, a 25-year-old Shiite, who spoke to a reporter as he was receiving a blood transfusion.

“I was standing at the end of the platoon. Suddenly I saw explosion and fire. I would have been killed if I were standing with my Sunni friend. He died. We had breakfast together today,” sobbed Mohammed, who was wounded in the back and legs.

Akram Salman, a 22-year-old Sunni, said he, too, was among the approximately 60 recruits waiting outside the police station for a day of training.

Salman declared the bombing an inside job because the suicide attacker penetrated heavy security surrounding the police camp without being searched.

He said police failed to stop the bomber when he changed course suddenly from the main road toward the recruits.

“The police are infiltrated. Many people join the police, but they have affiliations with al-Qaida. These infiltrators made it easy for the bomber to attack us,” he said. “There are two main checkpoints on the main road leading to the camp. It would be impossible for a man on a bicycle to pass without being properly searched.”

The kidnapped tribal sheiks were also from Diyala province. Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Askari said four kidnappers were killed and six were wounded in the rescue operation. He did not say who carried out the raid.

Reports kept changing on how many sheiks were involved. By late Monday, al-Askari and other officials said eight sheiks were kidnapped and seven freed.

Reports on Sunday had said the sheiks were kidnapped as they drove out of Baghdad after meeting with the Shiite-dominated government’s adviser for tribal affairs.

Police found the bullet-riddled body of one of the Sunni sheiks, Mishaan Hilan, about 50 yards away from where the ambush took place, according to an officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information. The sheik was identified through the mobile phone found on his body.

The U.S. accused Shiite militia leader Arkan Hasnawi, a former brigade commander in the Mahdi Army militia, of the kidnapping.

A U.S. brigadier general was wounded in a roadside bombing Monday in northern Baghdad, the military reported.

Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Dorko, commanding general of the Gulf Region Division, was the highest-ranking American officer to be hurt since the conflict began in March 2003. Dorko was in stable condition.