16 Iraqi Soldiers Killed in Suicide Attack on Base

A suicide bomber dressed in an Iraqi army uniform detonated an explosives belt today among Iraqi soldiers lined up for lunch at a base west of Baghdad, killing at least 16 and wounding 50, Iraqi officials said. Iraqi soldiers and US troops share the base, in the former Sunni insurgent stronghold of Habbaniyah, two Iraqi officers said. It was unknown whether any American soldiers were nearby.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack, but suicide bombings are a tactic used by al-Qaeda in Iraq and some other Sunni insurgents. One officer ruled out the possibility that the attacker had entered the base through checkpoints at the camp gates, where security is tight, and speculated he sneaked through gaps in the wire fence surrounding the camp. (More Iraq stories.)