Iraq suicide car bombing kills 21 policemen

HILLA (Iraq), May 5 (AFP): A suicide attacker blew up a bomb-filled car at a police station south of Baghdad, killing 21 policemen Thursday, as Iraqi forces braced for Al-Qaeda revenge attacks after Osama bin Laden's death. The attack, which also wounded at least 75 policemen, was the worst in Iraq in more than a month, and pushed security chiefs to install new checkpoints, tighten access to key roads and restrict movement between provinces. The bombing left a two-metre (six-foot) crater and badly damaged the police station in the centre of the mainly Shiite city of Hilla, capital of Babil province, in addition to several nearby houses and shops, just days after US special forces killed bin Laden in Pakistan. "The suicide bomber took advantage of the police station's guards changing shifts to attack," said Haidar al-Zazour, head of the Babil provincial council security committee.