Baghdad, Iraq – A suicide truck bomber attacked a crowded market in Tall Afar late Tuesday, killing at least 17 people and wounding 35 in a city cited by President Bush as a success story in battling insurgents.
The bombing occurred after incoming Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said he had almost finished assembling a Cabinet, the final step in establishing a national unity government.
U.S. officials had predicted insurgents would step up attacks to try to block the new administration.
Also Tuesday, the U.S. command reported that an American soldier was killed the day before in a bombing in Baghdad. At least 2,423 members of the U.S. military have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said al-Maliki would soon launch a four-part plan to restore order by securing Baghdad, Basra and eight other cities, promoting reconciliation, building public confidence in the police and army, and disbanding sectarian militias.
The truck bomber struck about 8:30 p.m. as shoppers in Tall Afar were scurrying to finish their purchases before closing, according to police Col. Abdul-Karim Mohammed, who gave the casualty figures.
The director of the city hospital, Saleh Qado, said 20 people were killed and 70 wounded, and that U.S. Army medics provided emergency treatment at the scene before loading the injured into ambulances.
Lt. Col. Ali Rasheed of the Interior Ministry said the main target may have been a police station within the market area of the city, 260 miles northwest of Baghdad.
At least 500 Iraqis have been killed by vehicle bombs in 2006, out of a total of at least 3,525 Iraqis killed in war-related violence this year. These numbers include civilians, government officials, and police and security officials, and are considered only a minimum based on Associated Press reporting.
In March, Bush praised American efforts to stabilize Tall Afar, saying he had “confidence in our strategy” and that success in the city “gives reason for hope for a free Iraq.” U.S. and Iraqi forces launched an operation in September to clear the city of insurgents – the second such attempt in a year.
However, by the end of September, a female suicide bomber slipped into a crowd of recruits, killing at least six people and wounding 30. Since then, the city has been hit by repeated suicide attacks.
Tall Afar’s population is a volatile mix of Turkomen, Kurds and Arabs, which complicates efforts to control the city.