Suicide bomber strikes Iraqi bank, killing 12

A twin attack Thursday involving a car bomb and a suicide bombing in Tikrit killed 12 people near a bank and a market crowded with shoppers stocking up for Ramadan, Iraqi officials said. At least 28 people were also wounded in the attack, a health department official said, while a security official put the number of wounded at 31. Also on Thursday, in Baghdad's northern Waziriyah neighbourhood, seven people were wounded by a car bomb that destroyed 11 liquor stores About the Tikrit attack, Dr Raad Al Juburi, head of the health department in Salaheddin province, of which Tikrit is the capital, said: "A car bomb exploded outside the Al Rafidain Bank in the centre of Tikrit, and one minute later a suicide bomber exploded his vest as people gathered". He gave a toll of 12 people killed and 28 wounded and added that police and soldiers were among the victims. A military official in Tikrit confirmed the 12 dead, adding the attack happened at 11.45am (0845 GMT). He said four soldiers were among the dead, and 12 among the wounded. The bank had earlier been crammed with soldiers waiting to withdraw their salaries but they had been told to leave because it had run out of money, the official said. Ramadan food shopping A witness said that the state-owned bank is close to the city's wholesale food market, which was crowded with people shopping for the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan that begins in early August. "A booby-trapped (vehicle) exploded at a parking lot next to the bank. When people gathered, a suicide bomber exploded his vest," said a policeman at the scene. He said nine parked cars were also damaged, together with several shops in the market. Police cars were roaming the streets of Tikrit, 160km north of Baghdad, blaring through loudspeakers that the streets were closed to cars, and only pedestrian traffic was allowed. Waziriyah car bomb attack In Baghdad's northern Waziriyah neighbourhood, seven people were wounded by a car bomb that destroyed 11 liquor stores. Islam forbids the consumption of alcohol, and militants are particularly sensitive to this during Ramadan. Two other attacks in Tikrit this month killed in all 36 people, and another March 29 attack, claimed by Al Qaida, on the Salaheddin governorate offices left 58 people dead. Tikrit is one of the strongholds of the Sunni insurgency and the hometown of dictator Saddam Hussain who was ousted in the 2003 US-led invasion. Violence has steadily been rising in the past few months as US troops begin packing up to leave by the end of the year the country they invaded in 2003 to topple Hussain. June was the deadliest month so far this year for the number of Iraqis killed, and the bloodiest in three years for US forces, who lost 14 soldiers in attacks.