Suicide bomber kills 13 policemen in Iraq

The victims were members of an elite special weapons squad sent to Samarra to protect shrines during a recent Shi’ite religious event, a police source said. The attacker stopped the car in front of a shelter where a SWAT team from southern Maysan province was staying.

Samarra, 100 km north of Baghdad, was struck by another suicide bombing that targeted Shi’ite pilgrims nine days ago. The bomber detonated an explosive vest at a crowded bus depot just outside the city, killing at least 48 people.

That attack occurred during a commemoration of the death of Hasan al-Askari, one of 12 revered imams. Shi’ite religious events were banned under Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein, who was ousted in a 2003 US-led invasion.

Shi’ite pilgrims have been frequent targets of a weakened but still lethal Sunni Islamist insurgency.