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Suicide blasts against police kill 23 in Iraq

A suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowded Baghdad hotel lobby on Monday, killing at least seven people, staff at the hotel said.

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BAGHDAD: Two suicide vehicle bombings killed at least 23 people in Iraq on Monday, mostly policemen and prisoners, as insurgents launched fresh assaults on the country's fledgling police force.

The attacks came a day after an Iraqi court sentenced Ali Hassan al-Majid, widely known as 'Chemical Ali' -- executed dictator Saddam Hussein's cousin and former defence minister -- to death for the slaughter of 182,000 Kurds in 1988.

Fifteen people were killed when a bomber ploughed an explosives-laden oil tanker into the police headquarters of the northern Iraqi town of Baiji, a local police officer said. Another 50 people, mostly civilians, were wounded.

"A suicide bomber driving an oil tanker tried to break into the building but he blew himself up at the gate because he could not get in. It resulted in huge damage to the building," said Police Captain Ahmed Husein of Baiji.

"All the wounded are civilians from shops near the headquarters, but most of those killed are prisoners and policemen," he said, adding that rescuers were still pulling bodies out of the rubble.

Local authorities have imposed a full curfew and blocked all roads leading in or out of the town, which is just north of Saddam's hometown of Tikrit. Residents have been warned to stay inside.

The attack in Baiji came around three hours after another early morning bombing in the town of Hilla, south of Baghdad. There a suicide bomber slammed into a crowd of recruits waiting outside a police academy, killing eight and wounding several dozen.

Doctor Saad al-Hilli from the town's general hospital said more than nine people were in critical condition.

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