Bombings tear through Baghdad, Mosul, killing 31

[December 01, 2008]  BAGHDAD (AP) -- Iraqi officials say 15 people have been killed in a suicide car bombing in the northern city of Mosul.

A police officer in Mosul says the attacker apparently was targeting a joint U.S.-Iraqi patrol in a western section of the city.

The officer and an official at the morgue where the bodies were taken have given the death toll. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to release the information.

The U.S. military says initial reports show two Iraqi National Police and seven civilians were killed in Monday's attack. It says one U.S. soldier and 39 Iraqi civilians were wounded.

Conflicting tolls are common as authorities struggle to rescue victims in the chaotic aftermath of bombings.

Earlier, a double bombing targeting police recruits in Baghdad killed 16 people and wounded 45.

[Associated Press; By HAMID AHMED]

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