Bombers kill 13 as Iraq is rocked by double attack

Published on Tuesday 11 January 2005 14:13

A ROADSIDE bomb that missed a passing American military convoy killed seven Iraqis and wounded one south of Baghdad today, while a suicide car bomb killed six people at the police headquarters in Saddam Hussein’s home town.

The victims in the roadside bomb explosion were travelling in a minibus in Yussifiyah, nine miles south of Baghdad, when the blast occurred.

In Tikrit, a US military spokesman said six people were killed, while police sources said 12 others were wounded.

"As the Iraqi police continue to get stronger, and continue to pose a threat to the insurgents and terrorists, they will be targeted," he said.

The killings were the latest in a series of attacks by insurgents who are trying to disrupt landmark national elections on January 30.

The last two days have seen a new surge of attacks, with four roadside bombings and suicide attacks on Iraqi and American forces yesterday.

At dawn today, an explosion tore through an oil pipeline between Kirkuk and a refinery in Beiji. An official with the Northern Oil Company said the pipeline was destroyed and would take five days to repair.

The official said an explosion hit another oil pipeline in the Zegheitoun area, 34 miles south-west of Kirkuk, that runs to Beiji.

Insurgents have repeatedly targeted Iraq’s oil infrastructure, denying the country much-needed reconstruction money.