Suicide car bomber kills 6 people in Kirkuk

[May 12, 2009]  BAGHDAD (AP) -- A suicide bomber rammed his car into an Iraqi police truck Tuesday, killing five policemen and a civilian in the northern oil city of Kirkuk, said police.

In Baghdad, an American soldier was in custody Tuesday, a day after he allegedly opened fire in a counseling clinic at a major U.S. base, killing five fellow soldiers.

It was the deadliest case of soldier-on-soldier violence since the war began in 2003 and drew attention to the issue of combat stress after six years of conflict.

The suicide bombing, which took place in a crowded downtown commercial area packed with people preparing for work, also wounded at least 11 others, including children and other civilians, said Brig. Gen. Sarhat Qadir, the police spokesman in Kirkuk.

The attack left a scene of devastation around the market of burnt cars and smoldering shops. Firefighters hosed down the street, and police carried off the charred bodies of their colleagues.

"I was standing near my stall trying to weigh some fruit for a buyer when I heard a big explosion," said merchant Mohammed Habib from his hospital bed, where he was being treated for head injuries.

"Everything around me flew in the air from the force of the explosion and my scales crashed into my head," he said.

The owner of a sweets shop in the market complained that the repeated attacks were ruining the economy, as he swept up shattered glass and scattered sweets in front of his store.

"Every time there was an explosion near my shop, I had to pay for repairing the damage," said Ahmed Anwar. "I cannot afford to pay these expenses forever."

A roadside bomb also exploded near an army patrol on the other side of the city at the same time as the suicide attack, but there were no casualties, said Qadir.

Kirkuk is the center of Iraq's oil production in the north and is contested between its Kurdish and Arab populations. Kurdish leaders seek to incorporate it into their semiautonomous region in the north, making it one of the most sensitive areas for Iraqi leaders and U.S. military commanders preparing to withdraw their troops from the country by the end of 2011.

The showdown has been so volatile that Kirkuk was excluded from regional elections in January and the United Nations has offered a proposal for compromise plans.

In Baghdad, U.S. officials on Tuesday declined comment on the shooting, which occurred at Camp Liberty near the city's international airport, because the case was part of a criminal investigation.

A U.S. spokesman, Lt. Col. David Patterson, said the command expected to issue a statement later Tuesday after notification of the victims' families and after "formal charges are rendered."

Pentagon officials said the shooting occurred after an Army sergeant had been disarmed and turned away from the center but returned with another weapon and opened fire. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing.

President Barack Obama, who visited an adjacent base last month, said in a statement that he was "shocked and deeply saddened" by the report.

At the Pentagon, Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the shooting occurred "in a place where individuals were seeking help."

"It does speak to me about the need for us to redouble our efforts in terms of dealing with the stress," Mullen said.

The U.S. military is coping with a growing number of stress cases among soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan -- many of whom are on their third or fourth combat tours. Some studies suggest that about 15 percent of soldiers returning from Iraq suffer from some sort of emotional problems.

[Associated Press; By SAMEER N. YACOUB]

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