Suicide bomber targets Baghdad cops

A suicide bomber struck at the main police academy in Baghdad on Sunday, killing at least 30 people and wounding dozens of others, officials said.

The attack is the latest as the US and UK begin to reduce their presence in the country. The US military was expected to announce the withdrawal of two more brigades on Saturday.

The bomber detonated his explosives near a side entrance of the academy, which is in a mainly Shia area of east Baghdad.

One police officer said the bomber was riding a motorcycle when he drove into the line, but the interior ministry said the method of attack had not yet been determined.

Extremists have increasingly targeted Iraqi forces as they try to prove they can take over the country’s security.

Baghdad’s main police academy has been hit by several bombings. Nobody claimed responsibility for Sunday’s attack. But suicide bombings are usually blamed on al-Qaeda in Iraq and other Sunni insurgents.