A suicide bomber rammed his explosives-packed car into the front gate of a police headquarters Thursday, killing three people in the second strike on security targets in an eastern Iraqi city in as many days, as AP reported. Officials said the dead included two policemen and a female bystander outside the Diyala police command in the provincial capital of Baqouba, 35 miles (60 kilometers) northeast of Baghdad. At least 28 people were wounded in the strike in addition to the three killed, said Muna al-Omairi, a lawmaker in parliament who represents Diyala. Diyala health directorate spokesman Faris al-Azawi confirmed the casualties. The driver of the car crashed into the front gate of the police compound but was unable to break through, police said. The attack happened just a few blocks from a similar blast Wednesday in which a suicide attacker drove a bomb-packed ambulance into the headquarters of an Iraqi guard force that protects government buildings. At least seven people were killed and 67 wounded. Also Thursday morning, police and hospital officials in Baghdad said a roadside bomb wounded six pilgrims who were walking to Karbala, a holy city where religious rituals are about to peak in an end to a 40-day mourning period for Shiites. The pair of attacks in Baqouba followed another suicide bombing Tuesday in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit that killed 65 people in a crowd of police recruits.
