Suicide car bombing at Iraq army base kills three

A suicide car bomber killed three people and wounded 12 on Thursday when he exploded his vehicle at a military base in Iraq as new recruits were exiting, officials said.

At least one soldier was among those killed in the blast, which occurred in the parking lot of a military base in the northern city of Kirkuk, the medical and security officials said. The attack comes amid Iraq's worst bloodshed since 2008, with more than 4,000 people killed already this year. Late on Wednesday, a suicide bomber struck as worshippers streamed out of a Shiite mosque in Baghdad, killing 30 people and wounding 55. A second suspected suicide bomber spotted at the mosque in the north Baghdad neighbourhood of Waziriyah was shot dead by locals, who then set his body on fire, witnesses said. The surge in bloodshed has sparked concerns that Iraq is slipping back into the all-out sectarian war that plagued the country in 2006 and 2007, leaving tens of thousands dead. Experts say militant groups are exploiting political infighting in Iraq and regional sectarian tensions fuelled by Syria's civil war to recruit and to carry out attacks.

- Sapa-AFP