Iraq: Suicide bomber attacks target police

In Mosul, a &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/columnists/2002/10/09/37937.html' target=_blank>suicide bomber outside Jumhuriya Hospital summoned a group of policemen to him and detonated the bomb killing 12 and wounding four, officials and witnesses said.

"I heard an explosion. When I went to check, I saw bodies everywhere," Tahseen Ali Mahmoud al-Obeidi, hospital director, told The Associated Press.

CNN's Nic Robertson said that hospitals have become targets, and it is not unusual for insurgents to enter hospitals and try to snatch security receiving treatment, reports CNN.

Police Col. Mudhahar al-Jubouri said that the bloodiest attack was in Baqouba, 57 kilometers northeast of &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/war/2003/04/10/45882.html' target=_blank>Baghdad.

He said that a &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/hotspots/2002/06/17/30454.html' target=_blank>car bomb exploded in front of the gates of a provincial police headquarters, killing 15 people and injuring 17 others.

Al-Jabouri added that many of the victims were at the site to apply for jobs as policemen, informs Aljazeera.