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Blast Rocks Iraq Military Base, Killing 26 Lethal Blast Rocks Iraq Military Base
(about 2 hours later)
BAGHDAD — A blast at a military base north of Baghdad killed 26 people on Tuesday, but there were conflicting accounts of what caused the explosion among dozens of young people gathered for recruitment formalities. BAGHDAD — A blast at a military base north of Baghdad killed more than two dozen people on Tuesday, but there were conflicting accounts of what caused the explosion
Some reports put the death toll higher. A police official said a car bomb exploded in a parking lot near a recruitment center at the base, in Taji, 12 miles north of Baghdad, but an Iraqi Army source said a suicide bomber mingled with a crowd at the gate.
A police official said a car bomb exploded in a parking lot near the recruitment center in Taji, 12 miles north of Baghdad, but an Iraqi Army source said a suicide bomber mingled with a crowd at the gate. Medical officials at the Kadhimiya hospital near the recruitment center said more than 30 people were wounded, most of them seriously, and the death toll of 26 was likely to rise. The Associated Press put the death toll at 32 and said a suicide bomber driving a car packed with explosives had attacked as soldiers changed shift, with many military personnel walking to and from minibuses in the parking lot.
Medical officials at the Kadhimiya hospital near the recruitment center said more than 30 people were wounded, most of them seriously, and the death toll was likely to rise. Mohamed Talal was among the would-be recruits at the base. Reached by telephone, he said the crowd of applicants had been told to check their names against lists posted on the walls outside.
Mohamed Talal, one of the wounded, said in a telephone interview that would-be recruits had been told to check their names against lists posted on the walls outside.
“I was heading to the place near the parking lot to check my name when all of sudden a strong explosion happened where the people was gathering,” Mr. Talal said. “I turned and started to run, and I began to feel shrapnel in my back and I fell to the ground.”“I was heading to the place near the parking lot to check my name when all of sudden a strong explosion happened where the people was gathering,” Mr. Talal said. “I turned and started to run, and I began to feel shrapnel in my back and I fell to the ground.”
Security forces cordoned off the area and mounted raids and searches nearby.Security forces cordoned off the area and mounted raids and searches nearby.
The bombing was the second in Taji since Monday when a car bomb injured eight members of an Army patrol. The bombing was the second in Taji in as many days. On Monday, a car bomb injured eight members of an army patrol.
The Associated Press put the death toll at 32 and said a suicide bomber driving a car packed with explosives had attacked as soldiers changed shift, with many military personnel walking to and from minibuses in the parking lot.
While violence is generally lower than at the height of Iraq’s insurgency, assailants regularly attack Iraq’s security forces to erode confidence in the government’s ability to maintain order.While violence is generally lower than at the height of Iraq’s insurgency, assailants regularly attack Iraq’s security forces to erode confidence in the government’s ability to maintain order.
Separately, in the Dora neighborhood of southern Baghdad, gunmen attacked a police checkpoint on Tuesday, killing one policeman and wounding two others.Separately, in the Dora neighborhood of southern Baghdad, gunmen attacked a police checkpoint on Tuesday, killing one policeman and wounding two others.

Alan Cowell contributed reporting from London.

Alan Cowell contributed reporting from London.