BBC: 'Bomber kills 10' at Iraq funeral

'Bomber kills 10' at Iraq funeral

BBC News | August 6, 2006

A suicide bomber has killed at least 10 people and wounded about 20 more at a funeral in Tikrit, Iraq, police say.

The attack took place at about 2015 local time (1615 GMT) in a tent filled with mourners at the funeral of the father of a provincial councillor.

The council member, Saab Abd Bedeiwi, was killed in the attack, police captain Laith Hamid told the Associated Press news agency.

The casualty toll was expected to increase, the officer added.

The attack on the city 175km (110 miles) north of Baghdad came as US forces took up positions in the capital, in the first visible signs that a new security plan is being implemented.

Almost 4,000 US troops are being deployed there in an attempt to reduce the number of killings and kidnappings.

Troops from the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team were seen patrolling predominantly Sunni areas of the west of the city, after moving to there from the northern city of Mosul.

As the US troops moved into Baghdad, police said they had found at least 12 bodies around the city.