Tue February 10, 2004 06:14 AM ET
ISKANDARIYA, Iraq (Reuters) - About 50 people were killed and dozens wounded on Tuesday when a car bomb ripped through a police station south of Baghdad, witnesses and hospital doctors said.
"There are around 50 martyrs, 30 of whom have been identified, and dozens wounded," Dr Tahsim Ahmad told Reuters at Iskandariya hospital, near the site of the attack.
The hospital's director, Razak Jannabi, said: "Thirty dead have been brought here, I believe that number is rising. I believe it's at 49."
A Reuters reporter counted at least 20 bodies outside a hospital in the small town of Iskandariya, 25 miles south of Baghdad.
"It was a car (bomb) that was parked outside the station," policeman Sadeq Khodeir told Reuters. "It brought down part of the building and the court house."
U.S. troops cordoned off all roads leading to the blast site.
A suicide bomber blew himself up outside the house of a U.S.-backed tribal leader in the restive town of Ramadi west of Baghdad earlier on Tuesday, wounding four bodyguards.
The attacks followed a pattern of targeting Iraqis seen as collaborators with the U.S. occupation. A twin suicide bombing in northern Iraq killed more than 100 people on February 1.
The bombings targeted Iraq's two main Kurdish parties, which enjoy good ties to Washington.
Ramadi and neighboring areas, at the heart of the so-called Sunni triangle where resentment of the United States is strongest, have seen scores of attacks on U.S. forces and allied Iraqis. But areas south of Baghdad, like Iskandariya, have seen much less violence.
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Originally Posted by wangchung
