WORLD> Middle East
Suicide attack west of Baghdad; at least 12 dead
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-06-26 22:09

Police said the bomber entered the building through a back door, but it was unclear how he managed to evade security for the meeting, which drew community leaders in the town where Sunnis have turned against al-Qaida in Iraq.

US and Iraqi troops rushed to the bombing site and sealed off the area, local residents said by telephone.

The media office for Anbar province said the dead included the town's administrative director and at least two chiefs of major Sunni tribes in the area.

The attack occurred only days before US troops are to hand over security responsibility for Anbar to the Iraqis, marking a major milestone in the campaign to lower the US profile in an area that had once been center-stage of the war.

Both Sunni and Shiite extremists appear determined to try to undermine efforts to build government institutions at the local level.

Ten people, including four Americans, were killed Tuesday in a bombing in a municipal council office in the Shiite area of Sadr City in Baghdad.

Two Americans were shot dead and four wounded Monday when a disgruntled official opened fire as they left a municipal building in Salman Pak about 15 miles south of the capital.

In the northern city of Mosul, a car bomb blew up Thursday as provincial Gov. Duraid Kashmola was inspecting damage from a rocket attack, police said. The governor escaped injury but eight people were killed -- including five of his guards -- and 22 people were wounded, police said.

The US military says violence in Iraq has dropped to its lowest level in more than four years, but attacks are continuing as Sunni and Shiite extremists try to regroup and undermine security gains.