Suicide Bomb Attack Kills 22 At Iraqi Feast

September 16, 2008 5:53 a.m. EST

Baghdad, Iraq (AHN) - A female suicide bomber killed 22 people and wounded 34 others when she blew herself up at a group of people during a feast in the Iraqi province of Diyala on Monday, authorities said.

General Abdel Karim al-Rubaie, the commander of Iraqi troops in Diyala, north of Baghdad, said the attacker blew herself up while guests were attending an Iftar banquet to break the Ramadan fast in Balad Ruz some 45 miles north of Baghdad.

Police said a detainee who was recently released from the U.S. military prison Camp Bucca was having a feast when the female suicide bomber showed up.

The attack came after two car bombs killed 12 people in central Baghdad a few hours earlier in the busy Karrada district.

Reports said the policeman who was released Sunday from a U.S. prison camp, was holding a large party to celebrate his newfound freedom when the woman blew herself up.

Baquba police Lieutenant Ali Ahmed adds the policeman was among those killed, including his father and another senior police officer from the region. Several other policemen were killed and wounded in the attack.