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| Iraq town hit by deadly car bomb | Iraq town hit by deadly car bomb |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| At least 17 people have been killed in a car bomb attack in the Iraqi town of Balad, police have reported. | At least 17 people have been killed in a car bomb attack in the Iraqi town of Balad, police have reported. |
| About 40 people were also injured in the incident, officials said. | About 40 people were also injured in the incident, officials said. |
| A spokesman told the BBC that the blast happened near an Iraqi army checkpoint in the market town, which lies to the north of the capital Baghdad. | A spokesman told the BBC that the blast happened near an Iraqi army checkpoint in the market town, which lies to the north of the capital Baghdad. |
| The blast was reported as US Defence Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Baghdad for talks with US military leaders and Iraqi government officials. | The blast was reported as US Defence Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Baghdad for talks with US military leaders and Iraqi government officials. |
| "It was a suicide car bomber. The attack took place at 1630 (1330 GMT) when the market was very busy," Colonel Issa Ayan, a police official in Salaheddin province, told the AFP news agency. | |
| Some buildings have collapsed and people have been reported missing since the explosion, he said, adding that the death toll may rise as bodies are uncovered from the rubble. | |
| Some reports put the death toll at 33. | |
| High-level visit | |
| Mr Gates is in Baghdad for talks on US troop levels in the light of what the US sees as the improving security situation in Iraq. | |
| He will also start talks on a pact to define the future relationship between Baghdad and Washington. | |
| US officials attribute improved security to the growth of neighbourhood police units and say basic service provision should get better as the security situation improves. | |
| "What's necessary to come behind security... are essential services... part of that is through the central government's distribution of funds into the provinces," US military spokesman Rear Admiral Greg Smith told Reuters news agency. |