Officials: Bomber kills 3 outside Iraqi mosque

[April 01, 2011]  BAGHDAD (AP) -- Officials say a suicide bomber disguised as a street cleaner struck Iraqi soldiers protecting a mosque in the country's west, killing two of the troops and a passer-by.

A senior police official in the city of Fallujah says the attacker walked up to the soldiers shortly before Friday noon prayers and blew himself up outside the mosque.

An army commander was among the dead. Six people also were wounded. A local health official confirmed the casualties on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.

Fallujah is located 40 miles (65 kilometers) west of Baghdad.

The mosque is near a government compound that houses offices for Fallujah's mayor, city council, police and courts.

[Associated Press; By BUSHRA JUHI]

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