[HAL9000]

Blast Hits Iraq Security Forces North of Baghdad

BAQUBA, Iraq (Reuters) - An explosion hit an Iraqi security patrol in the restive town of Baquba, north of Baghdad, Thursday and witnesses said they feared many casualties.

The blast struck members of the Iraqi Civil Defense Force as they were conducting an early morning patrol through the town, 40 miles north of Baghdad, which has been the scene of repeated attacks against Iraqi forces in recent weeks.

Two weeks ago a suspected suicide bomber detonated his vehicle outside a police station in Baquba, killing several bystanders. Late last year, twin car bomb attacks on police stations in Baquba and a nearby town killed more than a dozen.

Iraqi security forces, particularly the police, have increasingly become the target of insurgents in Iraq, who regard them as collaborating with U.S. and coalition occupying forces.

[GeronL]

I am sure the Iraqi's wish to keep being hit by the terrorists and want the US to leave

/sarcasm

[MEG33]

I hate these bombers and hope always for premature explosions in the privacy of their bomb making facility.

[HAL9000]

Roadside bomb wounds five Iraqis in volatile city of Baqouba

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- A roadside bomb exploded Thursday in a central Iraqi city in the volatile Sunni Triangle, wounding five people, police said.

The bomb was placed on a road near a sports stadium in Baqouba and exploded during the morning rush hour, Iraqi police Capt. Mohammed Saleh said.

He said five Iraqi civilians were wounded. No other details were available.

Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, is part of the Sunni Triangle where Saddam Hussein's loyalists are active, often attacking U.S. Army patrols with roadside bombs that also kill or injure Iraqi civilians.