Iraq suicide bomber kills at least 30: police

MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) – At least 30 people were killed on
Wednesday when a suicide bomber strapped with explosives blew
himself up in a crowd of Iraqi military recruits at an army
base in the northern town of Tal Afar, police said.

Police chief Najim Abdullah said at least 35 people were
wounded in Wednesday’s explosion, which occurred one day after
a suicide car bomb blew up in a crowded Tal Afar market,
killing at least 24 people and wounding 36.

Sunni Arab insurgents have waged a campaign of car
bombings, suicide attacks and kidnappings in recent months in
an attempt to destabilize the Shi’ite- and Kurdish-led
government and derail the U.S.-backed peace process.

Violence has spiked in the past two weeks ahead of a
national referendum on Saturday on a new constitution for Iraq
which some Sunni militants say will permanently sideline them
in favor of the country’s Shi’ite majority.

Iraqi leaders in Baghdad announced on Wednesday that
parliament would vote on proposed constitutional amendments
that have been agreed in hopes of winning broader Sunni support
for the charter.

Tal Afar, near the Syrian border, was the focus of major
offensive mounted by Iraqi and U.S. forces last month aimed at
rooting out militant fighters.