A car bombing in the central Iraqi town of Baquba Wednesday killed at least two Iraqis and injured another 29. The U.S. military also announced it has arrested another senior official of the former regime of Saddam Hussein. It said U.S. soldiers killed eight suspected insurgents during a clash in central Iraq on Tuesday.
The bombing in Baquba took place outside a police station. Witnesses said a car raced toward the station and exploded near the front gate as police opened fire on it. Police said the dead include the driver of the car, but military officials in Baghdad say the bomb was detonated by remote control.
Anti-coalition insurgents have frequently targeted Iraqi police and government institutions as well as coalition forces. Last Friday, a bomb exploded outside a Shi'ite Muslim mosque in Baquba, killing five worshippers and wounding dozens. A second bomb at another Shi'ite mosque was found and defused before it could explode.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military says U.S. soldiers killed eight suspected Iraqi insurgents on Tuesday after coming under attack near the town of Samarra, north of Baghdad.
A military spokeswoman said the soldiers were on patrol when six cars drove past and opened fire. She said the soldiers then returned fire.
On Wednesday, The U.S. military announced the arrest of Khamis Sirhan al-Muhammad, a former regional Baath Party chairman and militia commander. He is number 54 on the coalition's list of 55 most wanted persons and was captured Sunday in the Ramadi area, west of Baghdad.
In operations early Wednesday, U.S. forces arrested four relatives of the most wanted Iraqi fugitive, former Vice President Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri. U.S. officials blame Mr. al-Douri for coordinating attacks against coalition forces. They have put a $10 million price on his head.