Female suicide bomber hurts 34

An officer’s warning prevented more injuries or deaths.

BAGHDAD (AP) — A female suicide bomber targeted a crowd of soccer fans celebrating Iraq’s win in a World Cup qualifier Saturday, wounding at least 34 people near a cafe north of Baghdad, police said.

The young woman, who was covered in a traditional black Islamic robe, was dropped off by a car shortly before the attack as dozens of cheering young men poured out onto the streets after watching Iraq beat China 2-1 on television in the cafe in the town of Qara Tappah.

The woman told suspicious police that she was waiting for her husband but blew herself up after an officer spotted the detonator and began screaming at the crowd to disperse, according to the town’s top administrator, Serwan Shukir.

Seven police and 27 civilians were among the wounded, Shukir said, but the officer’s warning had averted a higher casualty toll by preventing the woman from reaching the bulk of the fans.

Police Capt. Najib Khourshid said she was about 20 yards away from the crowd when the blast occurred.

“About 100 people were in the cafe, and we went out to celebrate the victory after the match. Minutes later, a big explosion took place near us,” said Salman Hameed, who was wounded in his chest and right hand. “The female bomber has spoiled our joy and celebration.”

Hameed, a Sunni Arab, said five of his Kurdish and Turkomen friends also were wounded in the attack.

Qara Tappah is a mainly Kurdish and Shiite Turkomen city, about 75 miles northeast of Baghdad in the volatile Diyala province. The attack followed warnings by U.S. officials that al-Qaida in Iraq is increasing efforts to recruit women as suicide attackers in a bid to subvert stepped-up security measures, particularly in Diyala.

In Baghdad, a bomb hidden on a bus exploded in a Shiite neighborhood, killing two people and wounding eight, police said. Three other civilians were injured Saturday when a roadside bomb exploded near a police patrol in the capital’s Karradah district, police said.

President Bush, meanwhile, brushed off comments that negotiations on a long-term security agreement between the United States and Iraq were faltering ahead of a July target date for completion. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told reporters Friday that the talks were deadlocked but would continue.

The Iraqi national security council met Saturday and expressed support for al-Maliki’s management of the talks, according to a government statement.

The expression of support by the council, which includes representatives from all major political blocs, appeared to be aimed at showing the U.S. and the Iraqi public that the political establishment was united in its opposition to U.S. demands.

But in Paris, Bush said he was still optimistic that a deal would be finalized.

“If I were a betting man, we’ll reach an agreement with the Iraqis,” Bush said. “Of course, we’re there at their invitation. It’s a sovereign nation. ... We’re going to work hard to accommodate their desires. It’s their country.”

Failure to strike a deal would be a major setback for Bush ahead of the November presidential election and would leave the future of the U.S. mission here to the next president. The agreement would provide a legal basis for American troops to remain here after the U.N. mandate expires at the end of the year, raising Iraqi concerns about sovereignty issues.