Dozens die in two blasts at army base

The suicide bombers struck in Diyala province, which is a strategically important area.

BAQOUBA, Iraq (AP) — Scattered sandals and overturned bicycles were all that remained hours after suicide bombers struck the Saad military camp.

Medical staff had finished unloading the white body bags at the nearby hospital, where the wounded moaned on bloodstained floors and weeping soldiers kneeled over slain comrades.

The twin blasts in Baqouba recalled the scenes of mass terror and grief that were almost a daily routine before last year’s steep decline in violence.

In an old tactic of Sunni extremists, two suicide bombers set off explosives among the army recruits Tuesday, killing at least 28. Violence also flared in the northern city of Mosul, where a dozen people died in bombings that targeted the Iraqi police and army.

The attack in Baqouba, capital of Diyala province, came ahead of a planned Iraqi military offensive to halt attempts by militants to regroup in the volatile area northeast of Baghdad.

Diyala is critical to Baghdad’s security because of its strategic importance as an entrance to the capital and a threat to supply routes going north. The ethnically mixed area also borders Iran, which the United States has accused of helping militants to stage attacks on American troops.

U.S. military officials said Tuesday’s attack did not reflect any rise in militant strength in the area.

“I don’t think this changes the security situation. It’s just an isolated incident. This is the way al-Qaida grabs attention,” said Maj. Jay Gentile, with the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment.

The Saad camp lies in an area with a large Shiite population on the eastern outskirts of Baqouba. Sunni militants have often targeted Shiites with suicide bombings.

The bombing occurred in a field outside the entrance to the joint U.S.-Iraqi base, where recruits were signing up.

The explosions killed 28 people and wounded at least 57 recruits, a police official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.