Twelve wounded after suicide bomber hits Iraq police station (Reuters)

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – At least 12 people were wounded when a suicide bomber in a wheelchair blew himself up at a police station in the northern outskirts of Iraq's capital on Sunday, a spokesman for the Baghdad operations command said.

Major General Qassim al-Moussawi said the bomber set off his explosives vest in the police chief's office at the station in Tarmiya, 25 km (15 miles) north of Baghdad.

"This is the initial toll and we expect it to rise," Moussawi told Reuters.

He said the 12 wounded included nine policemen and three civilians.

An Interior Ministry source put the toll at two killed and 17 wounded, including nine policemen.

Attacks against Iraqi security forces have been increasing as the country's army and police prepare to take total responsibility for security ahead of a full withdrawal of U.S. troops by December, more than eight years after the invasion.

Insurgents launched at least eight attacks on police in Baghdad and northern Mosul on Wednesday, using a combination of guns and explosives.

Bombings and killings remain a daily occurrence in Iraq as security forces fight a stubborn insurgency, although overall violence has dropped since the height of sectarian fighting in 2006-7.

(Reporting by Muhanad Mohammed; Writing by Serena Chaudhry; Editing by Louise Ireland)

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At least 20 killed in suicide bombing in east Afghanistan (Reuters)

PULE ALAM, Afghanistan (Reuters) – A suicide car bomber killed at least 20 people, and possibly as many as 35, in an attack at a hospital in a remote district of eastern Afghanistan on Saturday that damaged its maternity ward, officials said.

Estimates of the casualties, which included patients and medical staff, varied widely in chaotic scenes outside the hospital in the remote Azra district of eastern Logar province, which is just south of Kabul.

Dozens more were wounded in one of the worst attacks this year.

Deen Mohammad Darwish, a spokesman for the Logar provincial government, said as many as 35 people were killed, although Afghanistan's Interior Ministry put the death toll at 20.

"The exact target is still not clear," Interior minister deputy spokesman Najib Nikzad said.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid denied responsibility and said the Islamist insurgents never attack hospitals.

President Hamid Karzai condemned the attack in which he said "tens of civilians" were killed. The United Nations said the maternity ward was hit in the bombing.

"This is a despicable attack against civilians who were seeking medical care, as well as visiting family members and health workers," Staffan de Mistura, the U.N. chief in Afghanistan, said in a statement.

Tensions have flared over civilian casualties, with insurgents and the Afghan government alike criticizing NATO-led forces for killing innocent Afghans while hunting for militants.

United Nations figures however show that insurgents are responsible for three-quarters of civilian deaths.

Military and civilian casualties hit record levels in 2010, the most violent year of the war since U.S.-backed Afghan forces toppled the Taliban in late 2001.

This year is following a similar trend, with violence growing across Afghanistan since the Taliban announced a spring offensive at the beginning of May.

U.S. commanders had already said they expected a rise in attacks as insurgents hit back after U.S. and NATO forces made gains during operations in the Taliban heartland in the south over the past 18 months.

The United Nations said two weeks ago that May had been the deadliest month for civilians since it began compiling statistics four years ago.

It said it had documented 368 "conflict-related" civilian deaths, 82 percent of them caused by insurgents.

The latest violence comes as seven areas across the country prepare to take over security responsibilities from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) fighting an increasingly unpopular war that has dragged on for 10 years.

That will coincide with the start in July of a gradual drawdown of U.S. troops. U.S. and NATO troops plan to hand over security responsibility for all of Afghanistan by the end of 2014, although critics warn the handover date is premature.

While most of the ISAF gains have been in Taliban strongholds in the south, the insurgency in eastern provinces like Logar and Kunar near the border with Pakistan is much more fragmented.

Taliban fighters often slip across the border from safe havens in Pakistan's largely lawless northwest but other groups like the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani network also operate extensively in the area.

(Additional reporting by Hamid Shalizi; Writing by Alistair Scrutton; Editing by Sugita Katyal)

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Afghan suicide truck bomber kills 35

At least one doctor was among the 35 killed and 60 wounded by the suicide truck bomber Saturday at an Afghan hospital.NEW: A French soldier was killed in Kapisa provinceAlong with the 35 dead, 25 were wounded, an official saidISAF, U.S. and Karzai condemned the latest attacks

Kabul, Afghanistan(CNN) -- A suicide bomb attack targeting a hospital in eastern Afghanistan killed at least 35 people and wounded more than two dozen, a brazen strike that rocked a maternity ward and claimed the lives of numerous women and children.

The incident occurred Saturday in the Azra district of Logar province when a truck packed with explosives detonated, according to Sifatiullah Haqmal, a member of the provincial council.

The head of the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said "much of the damage was in the maternity ward of the hospital, and many of those killed and injured were women and children."

The mission noted that assaults on hospitals "are strictly prohibited under international humanitarian law" and that "medical workers, clinics and hospitals must be respected and protected in all circumstances."

Dr. Khaliq Yar, head of the provincial projects for a national medical program, described the hospital as a four-ward comprehensive health center, including a section for mothers and children and ten beds for maternity patients.

The Logar assault follows a similar strike last month when a suicide bombing tore through a military hospital in Kabul, killing six people and injuring others.

"This is a despicable attack against civilians who were seeking medical care, as well as visiting family members and health workers," Staffan de Mistura, the special representative of the secretary-general for Afghanistan, said in a statement on Saturday.

"The terrorists demonstrated a disregard for human life when they targeted Afghans who were patients in a hospital and their visitors and relatives, and hospital personnel," the U.S. Embassy in Kabul said in a statement.

Casualty reports fluctuated in the hours after the attack. Logar governor's spokesman Den Mohammad Darwish told CNN that along with the 35 deaths, 25 others were wounded.

The Logar strike is the second attack in as many days in Afghanistan that targeted civilians, just days after President Barack Obama outlined a plan to withdraw 30,000 troops from the country by September 2012.

Along with the Logar strike, a bomb attack in the northern province of Kunduz on Friday killed at least 10 people, actions the embassy called "devastating."

The Afghan President Hamid Karzai and NATO's International Security Assistance Force also issued statements condemning both incidents, and said the violence underscores warnings from military commanders that insurgents are intent on pursuing large-scale strikes.

"The insurgents have a complete disregard for the innocent people of Afghanistan who are trying to live in peace," ISAF spokesman Rear Adm. Vic Beck said.

The Kunduz incident on Friday occurred in the province's Khan Abad district square, said Mohibullah Saidi, a spokesman for the provincial governor.

Along with the 10 deaths, 24 people were wounded in the attack, the Ministry of Interior said. The bomb was placed in a bicycle and was detonated by remote control, Saidi said.

ISAF also reported the deaths of two service members on Saturday in separate insurgent attacks in eastern Afghanistan, and the alliance confirmed that one of them was a French service member. The nationality of the other soldier was not immediately available.

There have been 48 international troop deaths in June and 264 this year, according to a CNN count of casualties.

The French government said its soldier was wounded by insurgent fire in a fight during a reconnaissance mission in Kapisa province and died later at a hospital. He is the 63rd French soldier to die in the Afghan war.

France announced Thursday that it would also begin to reduce troop numbers, saying it "will initiate a progressive withdrawal of troops in Afghanistan, and will follow a timetable comparable to the withdrawal of the American troops."

French President Nicolas Sarkozy's office said the withdrawal will be done in consultation with NATO allies and the Afghan government.

All French soldiers could be out of Afghanistan by 2013, French Defense Minister Gerard Longuet told France Info radio Thursday.

CNN's Matiullah Mati and Joe Sterling contributed to this report

CNN

At least 15 killed in suicide bombing in east Afghanistan (Reuters)

PULE ALAM, Afghanistan (Reuters) – A suicide car bomber killed at least 15 people, and possibly as many as 35, in an attack near a hospital in a remote district of eastern Afghanistan Saturday, government and security officials said.

Estimates of the casualties, which included women and children, varied widely in chaotic scenes outside the hospital in the remote Azra district of eastern Logar province. Dozens more were wounded.

Deen Mohammad Darwish, a spokesman for the Logar provincial government, said as many as 35 people were killed, although Afghanistan's Interior Ministry put the death toll at 15.

"The exact target is still not clear and the death toll is expected to rise," Interior minister deputy spokesman Najib Nikzad said.

President Hamid Karzai condemned the attack in which he said "tens of civilians" were killed.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid denied responsibility and said the Islamist insurgents never attack hospitals.

Tensions have flared over civilian casualties, with insurgents and the Afghan government alike criticizing NATO-led forces for killing innocent Afghans while hunting for militants.

United Nations figures however show that insurgents are responsible for three-quarters of civilian deaths.

Military and civilian casualties hit record levels in 2010, the most violent year of the war since U.S.-backed Afghan forces toppled the Taliban in late 2001.

This year is following a similar trend, with violence growing across Afghanistan since the Taliban announced a spring offensive at the beginning of May.

U.S. commanders had already said they expected a rise in attacks as insurgents hit back after U.S. and NATO forces made gains during operations in the Taliban heartland in the south over the past 18 months.

The United Nations said two weeks ago that May had been the deadliest month for civilians since it began compiling statistics four years ago.

It said it had documented 368 "conflict-related" civilian deaths, 82 percent of them caused by insurgents.

The latest violence comes as seven areas across the country prepare to take over security responsibilities from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) fighting an increasingly unpopular war that has dragged on for 10 years.

That will coincide with the start in July of a gradual drawdown of U.S. troops. U.S. and NATO troops plan to hand over security responsibility for all of Afghanistan by the end of 2014, although critics warn the handover date is premature.

While most of the ISAF gains have been in Taliban strongholds in the south, the insurgency in eastern provinces like Logar and Kunar near the border with Pakistan is much more fragmented.

Taliban fighters often slip across the border from safe havens in Pakistan's largely lawless northwest but other groups like the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani network also operate extensively in the area.

(Additional reporting by Hamid Shalizi; Writing by Alistair Scrutton; Editing by Sugita Katyal)

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35 dead as suicide bomber targets Afghan hospital

At least one doctor was among the 35 killed and 60 wounded by the suicide truck bomber Saturday at an Afghan hospital.NEW: ISAF, U.S. and Karzai condemned the latest attacksAt least 35 died and 60 more were wounded, an official saidA doctor is among those killed in bombing at hospital, officials saySuicide bomber targets hospital in eastern Afghanistan, officials say

Kabul, Afghanistan(CNN) -- A suicide bomb attack Saturday in eastern Afghanistan has killed at least 35 people and wounded another 60, Logar province governor spokesman Den Mohammad Darwish said.

The bomber used a truck packed with explosives to target a hospital in the Azra district of Logar province, said Sifatiullah Haqmal, a member of the provincial council.

At least one doctor was killed in the blast, which occurred at the front entrance of the Maternity Hospital of Akbarkhil Azra, said Dr. Khaliq Yar, head of the provincial projects for the Medicine Refresher Course for Afghanistan.

"The terrorists demonstrated a disregard for human life when they targeted Afghans who were patients in a hospital and their visitors and relatives, and hospital personnel," the U.S. Embassy in Kabul said in a statement.

It's the second attack in as many days in Afghanistan that targeted civilians, just days after President Barack Obama outlined a plan to withdraw 30,000 troops from the country by September 2012.

Along with the Logar strike, a bomb attack in the northern province of Kunduz on Friday killed at least 10 people, attacks the embassy called "devastating."

The Afghan President Hamid Karzai and NATO's International Security Assistance Force also issued statements condemning both incidents.

"The insurgents have a complete disregard for the innocent people of Afghanistan who are trying to live in peace," ISAF spokesman Rear Adm. Vic Beck said.

The Kunduz incident on Friday occurred in the province's Khan Abad district square, said Mohibullah Saidi, a spokesman for the provincial governor.

Along with the 10 deaths, 24 people were wounded in the attack, the Ministry of Interior said. The bomb was placed in a bicycle and was detonated by remote control, Saidi said.

CNN

Suicide bomber hits NATO convoy

NEW: The Taliban says it targeted the German troops in a suicide car bombing NEW: Officials: Those confirmed killed or wounded are civiliansNEW: It is not clear if there are NATO casualties in the latest attack The attack comes after the Afghan president said the U.S. is in peace talks with the Taliban

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- The Taliban claimed responsibility for a suicide car bomb attack Sunday that targeted a NATO convoy in northern Afghanistan's Kunduz province, killing at least three people and wounding 11, a spokesman for the provincial governor's office said.

The attack came a day after Afghan President Hamid Karzai said the United States was involved in peace talks with the Taliban. U.S. officials have downplayed Karzai's statements, saying there had been contact but no discussions substantial enough to be considered negotiations.

News of the talks has done little to stem attacks in Afghanistan.

On Sunday, a suicide bomber detonated a car full of explosives just as a convoy driven by German soldiers passed, said the governor's spokesman, Mahbobellah Saidi.

The convoy was attacked on the road leading to the airport in Kunduz City, the provincial capital, the Ministry of Interior said in a written statement.

All those killed and wounded were civilians, according to Saidi and the ministry statement.

It was not immediately clear whether there were NATO casualties, though one of the convoy vehicles was damaged, Saidi said.

But the Taliban claimed to have killed many soldiers in the attack.

"The troops were targeted accurately, according to the plan, and many of the soldier have been killed as a result of the attack," Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mojahed told CNN by telephone from an unknown location.

CNN can not independently verify the Taliban claim nor Saidi's account.

On Saturday, four NATO service members were killed in combat-related incidents in eastern and southern Afghanistan, and another four were killed in a vehicle accident in southern Afghanistan, NATO said.

ISAF has not released the names of those killed, saying its policy is to defer casualty identification procedures to national authorities.

CNN

Afghan official: Suicide bomber kills 3 (AP)

MAIDAN SHAR, Afghanistan – An Afghan official says a suicide bomber has killed three people in an attack against an administrative building in restive eastern Paktia province.

District chief Allah Gul Ahmadzai says the bombing occurred late Wednesday afternoon in the Sayed Karam district of Paktia, which borders with Pakistan. He says the bomber was wearing an explosives vest and blew himself up just 2 yards (meters) from the front gate of the district headquarters. The bomb killed three civilians, including a 13-year-old boy, and blew out windows in the compound. There was no other damage.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

MAIDAN SHAR, Afghanistan (AP) — A suicide bomber killed eight people and wounded four in a strike Wednesday on a governor's office in the northeast, while a mortar targeted a building where NATO and Afghan officials were inaugurating the country's largest police training facility in central Afghanistan.

The two attacks, which occurred at about the same time, were a stark reminder that insurgents can strike anywhere in this volatile country.

Provincial spokesman Halim Ayar said the bomber blew himself up about 220 yards (200 meters) from the office of Governor Azizul Rahman Tawab in the northeast Kapisa province. He said four of the dead were police officers and four were civilians. All the wounded were civilians, he added.

The Interior Ministry said in a statement that seven people were killed, including two police officers and five civilians. It added that seven others were wounded, including a police officer. The discrepancy in the casualty numbers, which is common in the aftermath of such attacks, could not immediately be resolved.

"The leadership of Ministry of Interior of Afghanistan condemns this inhumane and cowardly suicide attack. Such attacks will never weaken the determination of the Afghan National Police," read the ministry statement.

Meanwhile, in central Wardak province, a mortar landed next to a large building where Afghanistan's second vice president, Mohammed Karim Khalili and Interior Minister Bismullah Khan Mohammadi, along with NATO officials, celebrated the opening of the flagship center of a multibillion dollar NATO program to train Afghan national security forces ahead of a planned withdrawal of U.S.-led coalition forces at the end of 2014.

The deafening blast shook the building and more than 500 police recruits ducked for cover. Gunshots rang out after the attack. Bodyguards rushed Afghan and NATO officials into a hardened shelter before evacuating them on helicopters.

The area has seen increasing attacks by insurgents as the Taliban press a spring campaign against Afghan and NATO forces.

It was unclear if Khalili, who was born in Wardak, was the intended target of the attack, but the mortar seemed to have been aimed at the building where he had just finished delivering an address.

The $106 million facility currently houses 725 recruits but will expand to 3,000, making it the largest facility of its kind in the country. A mostly U.S. funded program has been spending about $10 billion a year in 2010 and 2011 alone to train, equip and build infrastructure for a range of Afghan forces, including police, soldiers and an air force. That program calls for increasing the number of Afghan police to 134,000 by October from the 81,509 of two years ago.

U.S. Maj. Gen. James Mallory told The Associated Press that NATO would be able to properly train and support an estimated 157,000 police officers before the coalition's planned withdrawal in 2014.

However, he acknowledged there would be long-term legacy costs that the international community would need to bear for the country as it struggles economically, especially as 86 percent of incoming recruits cannot read or write.

"We're dealing with a lost generation," Mallory said. He spoke just before the mortar attack.

Also Wednesday, in the southern province of Kandahar, the governor's office said NATO and Afghan troops killed 14 armed insurgents. Nine were killed after crossing the Pakistan border, while five were killed while allegedly trying to plant roadside bombs, the governor's office said.

A rocket attack in Kandahar city wounded four civilians in the Aymo Mina district, provincial police chief Gen. Abdul Raziq said.

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Associated Press writer Mirwais Khan in Kandahar, Afghanistan contributed to this report.

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Jon Gambrell can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP.

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Suspected suicide bombing kills 34 in Pakistan (Reuters)

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) – At least 34 people were killed in a suspected suicide bombing in the Pakistani city of Peshawar late Saturday, the latest attack since Osama bin Laden's killing last month.

The bombing took place near a building that houses several newspaper offices as well as apartments. The attack occurred when a large number of people were dining in the nearby restaurants.

No one claimed responsibility for the attack but Taliban militants have vowed to avenge the killing of al Qaeda chief bin Laden by U.S. SEALS in a secret raid in the northwestern town of Abbottabad on May 2.

A small blast preceded a big one, which senior police official Banaras Khan said police suspected was carried out by a suicide bomber.

"After the second blast, a fire broke out. Several charred bodies were lying on the ground while some wounded people were crawling away from the site," witness Naeem Ahmed told Reuters.

Television footage showed twisted window frames, shards of broken glasses and fallen electricity cables strewn on roads as rescue workers were loading wounded men on stretchers into ambulances.

Mian Iftikhar Hussain, information minister of the northwestern Khyber Pukhtunkhuwa (KP) province, told reporters that doctors had said the death toll was 34, "but it may rise as many wounded people are in critical condition."

Peshawar is the capital of KP, which borders Afghanistan.

Hospital officials said 100 people were wounded, 21 of them seriously. Several journalists and policemen were among the wounded.

"As I arrived here, one of the wounded man cried 'please take me to hospital, I am alive'," another witness told Express television at the site of the attack.

Since bin Laden was killed, militants have attacked a heavily guarded naval base in Karachi; killed nearly 100 people in twin suicide bombings at the headquarters of a paramilitary force in the northwest; attacked U.S. consulate convoy in Peshawar and killed a Saudi diplomat in Karachi.

(Additional reporting by Kamran Haider; Writing by Zeeshan Haider; Editing by Alison Williams)

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Somali minister killed in suicide blast

Abdishakur Sheikh Hassan was killed in his home by a suicide bomber.Somali Interior Minister Abdishakur Sheikh Hassan has been killed by a suicide bomberHassan was killed in his own home by the bomber, who was a womanHassan was treated for wounds to the head and one leg before he died

(CNN) -- Somalia's interior minister was killed Friday in a suicide bomb attack carried out in his own home by a female bomber, Somali government officials said.

The death of Abdishakur Sheikh Hassan was announced on state run radio by Somalia's deputy information minister.

Hassan was briefly treated for wounds to the head and one leg at Mogadishu's Benedir Hospital before dying, according to a government security official who declined to be named because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

The official confirmed that the suicide bomber had been staying at Hassan's house.

The jihadist group al-Shabaab has been waging a war against Somalia's government in an effort to implement a stricter form of Islamic law, or sharia law. Somalia has not had a stable government since 1991, and fighting between the rebels and government troops has added to the humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa nation.

It was not immediately clear if the suicide bomber had ties to al-Shabaab.

Journalist Mohamed Amiin contributed to this report

CNN

AU soldiers killed in Somalia suicide attack (AFP)

MOGADISHU (AFP) – Two soldiers with the African Union force in Somalia were killed Monday in a suicide attack by Al-Qaeda loyalists that also claimed the lives of at least three attackers, AU and Somali forces said.

Shebab extremists, who pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda last year, claimed responsibility for the attack and claimed their forces killed eight AU troops without revealing their own casualties.

Extremist insurgents disguised as Somali soldiers attacked Shakala military base south of the capital Mogadishu and exchanged fire with AU troops guarding the compound, the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) said in a statement.

Four assailants believed to be Shebab Islamist militiamen were behind the attack, the head of Somali security forces Mohamed Abdulahi told AFP.

"Two of the suicide bombers were killed before entering the base, but one was able to activate his bomb," he said.

The AU statement said the attackers drove up in a white saloon car but failed to enter the base. "Three of them were killed, including one would-be suicide attacker who ran away towards Hamar Weyne district," it said.

Two AU troops were killed and five other soldiers were wounded when the body of one of the suicide attackers exploded, it added.

Shebab spokesman Ali Mohamud Rage said: "The mujahedeen and in particular the unit tasked with the suicide attacks launched a well-organised assault this afternoon."

"They successfully killed eight soldiers at the entrance (of the base) and they forcefully entered", he said, adding at least 20 soldiers were injured.

Shebab leaders and foreign Al-Qaeda fighters in Somalia two weeks ago declared vengeance "in the near future" for the death of Osama bin Laden by US special forces in Pakistan earlier this month.

Somali police at the time said it was aware of a series of planned suicide attacks.

Shebab extremists control southern swathes of Somalia and part of its capital.

However, they have retreated after pro-government forces in February launched a 9,000-strong offensive backed up by AMISOM forces that include soldiers from Uganda and Burundi.

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Suicide bomber kills at least 6 in Kabul hospital (Reuters)

KABUL (Reuters) – A suicide bomber killed at least six people and wounded 23 more at a military hospital in a heavily-guarded area of the Afghan capital Kabul on Saturday, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The bomber struck at 12:30 p.m. local time (5 a.m. EDT) in the cafeteria of the hospital where medical students were eating lunch, said Mohammad Zahir, head of the police crime investigation unit. He added the dead were students.

The hospital is located in a high-security area near the U.S. embassy and where several other foreign embassies and international organizations operate.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in an emailed statement that the group had sent two suicide bombers into the hospital and killed many. The Taliban launched a long-awaited "spring offensive" last month.

Despite escalating violence in the 10th year of an increasingly unpopular war in Afghanistan, Kabul is relatively peaceful. In early April, a suicide bomber attacked an Afghan army bus on the outskirts of the capital, wounding 10 soldiers and civilians.

The Taliban, which often inflates the number of casualties it inflicts, vowed last month to carry out attacks, including suicide bombings, on foreign and Afghan troops and government officials.

Despite the presence of up to 150,000 foreign troops, violence across Afghanistan is at its worst since the 2001 overthrow of the Taliban government by U.S.-backed Afghan forces, and last year saw record casualties on both sides.

(Writing by Amie Ferris-Rotman; Editing by Alex Richardson)

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Taliban suicide attack kills 80 in Pakistan

Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility Friday for suicide attacks on a military training facility in the nation's northwest, saying they were carried out in retaliation for the killing of terrorist leader Osama bin Laden.

The twin suicide bombings killed at least 80 people, nearly all of them military recruits who had just completed their training, said Bashir Ahmad Bilour, a senior provincial minister. About 140 others were wounded.

"Pakistani and the U.S. forces should be ready for more attacks," said Ihsan Ullah Ihsan, a spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, who accused the Pakistani military of having alerted the United States to bin Laden's location.

"Osama was our great leader and the killers of Osama will have to pay its price," he said.

The back-to-back explosions took place shortly after scores of recruits had left the Shabqadar Fort, a training facility in the district of Charsadda, said Jahan Zeb Khan, a senior police officer.

Afterward, video of the blood-soaked ground outside the training facility showed it littered with burned vehicles and broken glass.

The recruits had just completed a nine-month training program when the attackers struck.

The district of Charsadda borders Mohmand Agency, one of seven districts in Pakistan's tribal region along the Afghan border.

Mohmand is believed to be a hideout for Taliban fighters and al Qaeda-linked militants fleeing last year's military operation in the district of South Waziristan and ongoing U.S. drone strikes in North Waziristan.

The Pakistani army has carried out numerous ground and air operations in Mohmand but it has not been able to stamp out the militants.

The Pakistani Taliban represent a confederation of Taliban groups in northwestern Pakistan, where they are based, said Bill Roggio, military-affairs analyst who is managing editor of The Long War Journal.

Those fighters attack targets in Pakistan and across the border in Afghanistan.

The group, which is headquartered in Quetta, is different from the Afghan Taliban, which has been focused on re-establishing the Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan.

Both groups swear allegiance to Taliban leader Mullah Omar and have close ties to al Qaeda, he said.

Last December, some 150 militants ambushed six security checkpoints in Mohmand, killing 11 Pakistani soldiers, officials told CNN.

Earlier in December, a twin suicide attack targeting a government building in Mohmand killed at least 40 people.

"They're clearly trying to disrupt our bilateral relationship through this attack," State Department spokesman Mike Toner told reporters. "But it's also clear that they are going to carry out these kinds of attacks no matter what."

But Imran Khan, a Pakistani opposition party leader, said the attacks show that the Pakistani government is doing a poor job managing the crisis.

"Unfortunately, we do not have a trustworthy, credible government," the chairman of Pakistan's Tehreek-e-Insaf (Movement for Justice) Party told CNN. "That's why I'm calling for the resignation of our own government, free and fair elections and a new, credible government," he said.

He cited government figures that cite 34,000 deaths and a $68 billion loss to the nation's economy as a result of terrorism. "The people of Pakistan are dying under this war on terror," he said.

Khan said Pakistan would be in a better position if it would simply decline U.S. aid. "Unfortunately, if Pakistan is considered a hired gun of the U.S., it reduces its capability to win this war on terror," he said. "If this becomes Pakistan's war, I think Pakistan will win the war. But if it's perceived that the Pakistani army is a mercenary army of the U.S., we have no chance of winning."

He added, "They target Pakistan because Pakistan is perceived as America's agents. That's why you see the sort of carnage that's taking place today."

Prior to 2004, there were no suicide attacks and no militant Taliban in Pakistan, he said. But things have changed. "Here's a country that had 500 bomb blasts last year."

The vast majority of the fighters are tribal people who are neither terrorists nor religious fundamentalists, he said. "They are fighting as a result of Pakistani military operations in the tribal area. So a credible government should have peace talks with them and then isolate the al Qaeda, which has worried the West."

CNN's Samson Desta and journalist Nasir Habib contributed to this report.

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Suicide bomber kills 20 police in Iraq

BAGHDAD (AP) — A suicide car bomber rammed his explosive-packed vehicle into a barrier outside a police building in a central Iraq city Thursday morning, killing 20 police officers and wounding dozens more, a local councilman said.

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Iraqi security forces inspect the scene of a car bomb attack in Hillah, about 60 miles south of Baghdad on Thursday.

AP

Iraqi security forces inspect the scene of a car bomb attack in Hillah, about 60 miles south of Baghdad on Thursday.

The blast ? in the mostly Shiite city of Hillah ? was the second significant attack in Iraq since the death of Osama bin Laden on Monday at the hands of a U.S. commando team in Pakistan. Iraqis have been on edge, waiting for al-Qaida's branch in Iraq to strike back as a way to demonstrate it is still dangerous.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing, but it resembled many past attacks by al-Qaida in Iraq targeted at security forces.

"The attack bears the hallmark of al-Qaida which is renewing its efforts to destabilize the country," said Hamid al-Milli, a member of the region's provincial council.

Iraqi officials have vowed to increase security in the aftermath of bin Laden's killing. Already, security is vastly improved since the days when bin Laden's associates terrorized the country, but Thursday's bombing seemed to underscore how difficult it is to wipe out all traces of the insurgency.

Iraq also faces the withdrawal of the remaining American forces ? about 46,000 troops ? from Iraq by the end of this year, a prospect that many Iraqis fear will leave their country more vulnerable to violence.

A police official said the bomber hit when officers were assembling in a square in front of the police building for a shift change in Hillah, about 60 miles (95 kilometers) south of the capital Baghdad.

Al-Milli said 20 policemen were killed and 40 more wounded in the bombing. He said the car was believed to have been loaded with about 330 pounds (150 kilograms) of explosives. The attacker sped toward the police building and the guards did not have a chance to shoot at him, he said.

A witness at the scene said the blast knocked down the concrete ceiling covering a parking lot where many police cars were parked.

The fact that the bomber was able to wipe out so many policemen in one blast immediately raised questions about security at the building.

"The incident is definitely a security breach and all the security services in the province, especially the police command, are held responsible for that," said Mansour al-Mani'i, a member of the Hillah council.

AP television footage showed ambulances and police vehicles with blaring sirens racing to and from the blast sight. A bulldozer moved debris from the scene, where twisted metal, spots of blood and piles of bricks and rubble lay. Emergency teams lifted bricks and iron bars from the debris, while shards of glass littered the site.

The head of the Babil Provincial Council, Kadim Tuman, told reporters on the scene of the blast that he was holding both officials at the building and at the central government accountable.

"This building was not well fortified and the changing of policemen's shifts was exposed to the enemy," he said. The central government had also failed to provide extra police and explosive detection equipment, he said.

The police building that was targeted is located in an important commercial area in Hillah. But many people were not yet at work, meaning the casualties were lower than they could have been.

Hillah is a predominantly Shiite city but its proximity to the Triangle of Death ? a mainly Sunni area that at one time was one of the most dangerous in the country ? has made it a frequent target of Sunni extremists. In 2005, a suicide car bombing targeted at security recruits killed 125 people in Hillah ? one of the worst such attacks of the war.

Maj. Gen. Mahdi Hadi al-Fikkaiki, head of the interior ministry's intelligence department, said they don't have the full details of the latest Hillah bombing as yet. He defended the government's ability to protect Iraq, but acknowledged that there was no way to make the country 100 percent safe.

"Security gaps can be found in most countries in the world," he said.

On Tuesday, a car bomb tore through a cafe in Baghdad packed with young men watching a football match on TV, killing at least 16 people.

Most of the dead and wounded in the cafe were young people. The blast occurred in a Shiite enclave in the former insurgent stronghold of Dora, an area in southwestern Baghdad that saw some of the fiercest fighting of the Iraq conflict.

Nobody has claimed responsibility for that attack either, but Sunni insurgents have often targeted Shiites, who they don't consider to be true Muslims, as a way to incite sectarian violence.

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Associated Press writer Sameer N. Yacoub in Amman, Jordan contributed to this report.

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Princeton professor's suicide abgers friends, students

Princeton professor's suicide draws ire from friends, students By Vivienne Foley, CNN STORY HIGHLIGHTSAntonio Calvo took his own life last weekA small group within his department at Princeton had asked for his removal, friend saysPrinceton declines to comment on the circumstances surrounding Calvo's death New York (CNN) -- A professor at Princeton University took his life last week after a small group in his department demanded he be removed from his position, a longtime friend of Dr. Antonio Calvo said Friday.

"It was a mounted campaign against him," said Marco Aponte-Moreno, who last spoke to his friend in March.

Calvo was director of the Spanish Language Program and had worked at Princeton for 10 years.

Sophomore student James Williams called his professor "witty" and "sassy," "even controversial," but said that it was always in good taste.

"He was one of the best professors I've ever had. He was like one of us," Williams said.

Calvo had been under duress due to a review process that had dragged on since last year, according to Aponte-Moreno. The Spanish Department had recommended his reappointment, Aponte-Moreno said, but a small group within the department wrote a letter to the dean alleging misconduct which led to his abrupt suspension two weeks ago.

"They wanted him out no matter what," said Aponte-Moreno, adding that Calvo didn't know exactly what the accusations were in the letter, so he didn't have a chance to defend himself.

The university issued a statement on its website earlier this week announcing plans for a memorial for Calvo. The statement said that he was "on leave from Princeton at the time of his death."

Princeton University spokeswoman Cass Cliatt declined to comment further on the details surrounding Calvo's death, saying that it is the school's policy not to "speak to matters of personnel, which are not public."

"We are heartfelt in extending our condolences to his family, and we continue to offer sympathy and provide support to the many students and faculty who knew him and admired him. We, like they, are very saddened by his death," Cliatt wrote in an emailed statement.

Calvo died April 12 of multiple, self-inflicted "stab and incised wounds of the neck and left upper extremities of his arm," said Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the New York City Medical Examiner's Office.

Students of Calvo's are planning to hold a closed forum Saturday at Princeton called "Justice for Calvo: Forming a Student Response."

"Everything happened so fast, this was his home," said Williams. "If he was treated unethically and unfairly, we need to address that issue and see that proper action is taken."

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Parents of teen who committed suicide sue school, district

By the CNN Wire Staff STORY HIGHLIGHTSThe boy's mother files a federal lawsuit against a Texas school districtShe says the staff failed to protect Asher Brown, 13Asher had told his mother and stepfather that he was taunted, they claim (CNN) -- The mother of a Texas teenager who committed suicide last year filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday, arguing the school he attended did nothing after receiving complaints he was being bullied.

Asher Brown, 13, an eighth-grader at Hamilton Middle School, shot himself to death at home last fall.

Amy Truong, Asher's mother, also names Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District in the lawsuit. She argues the middle school staff witnessed some incidents of bullying, physical assaults and name-calling against her son. Despite a policy on bullying and harassment, the suit states, district personnel "had an actual practice and custom of looking the other way."

Last year, Truong and the boy's stepfather told CNN's Anderson Cooper that Asher was bullied because he was small, did not wear fashionable clothing and was a Buddhist. They also said Asher told them he was gay and had received taunts about his sexuality.

The school district had no immediate reaction Tuesday. According to the lawsuit, it has stated there was no evidence of any bullying or complaints filed on behalf of Asher. But the lawsuit says his stepfather, David Truong, went to the school district to talk about Asher being bullied.

The Truongs said they are lobbying the Texas Legislature for anti-bullying reform legislation, according to CNN affiliate KPRC.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified punitive damages and asks that the school adopt a policy known as "Asher's Rule" in which students can confidentially report bullying and harassment.

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