Iraq suicide car bomb kills 24 policemen

IRAQ: A suicide bomber who drove his bomb-filled car into a police station south of Baghdad killed 24 policemen and wounded 72 others, according to an updated toll from a medical official on Friday.

Thursday morning's attack in Hilla, 95 kilometres (60 miles) south of the capital, was the deadliest to hit Iraq in more than a month as security chiefs braced for revenge attacks by Al-Qaeda following the death of Osama bin Laden in a US special forces raid in Pakistan on Sunday.

"24 policemen died, including five captains and two lieutenants, and 72 were wounded," said the director of Hilla's main surgical hospital, speaking on condition of anonymity. HILLA, Friday, AFP