Suicide bomber attacks Iraq police post; 6 killed

updated 5:00 a.m. ET Dec. 8, 2007

BAGHDAD - A suicide car bomber attacked a police station in one of Iraq’s major oil hubs on Saturday, killing at least six people and injuring 13, police said.

The attack in a residential neighborhood of Beiji came a day after the bombing of a key oil pipeline just east of the northern oil city.

Saturday’s explosion occurred at 9:30 a.m. outside the police station about three miles north of the city center, a police official said, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release details of the attack.

The official said five policemen and a civilian were killed in the blast, which damaged nearby homes and sent shards of glass flying through the air.

“The windows of my house shattered and three of my family members were injured,” said Jassim Salih, who lives nearby.

Beiji — which lies 155 miles north of Baghdad — houses northern Iraq’s largest oil refinery, and serves as a key transfer point for crude oil being exported out of Iraq.

Attacks on the Kirkuk-Beiji pipeline cluster have been infrequent in recent months, with some 300 U.S. soldiers and more than 2,000 Iraqi troops guarding the zone.

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