Iraq suicide blast hits anti-al-Qaeda group; 4 die

The police official says the men targeted by the bomber were gathering to collect their salaries on Monday morning outside one of their headquarters in the town of Taji, north of Baghdad, when the blast went off.

Iraqi security forces inspect the scene of a bombing in Kirkuk, 180 miles (290 kilometers) north of Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Feb. 3, 2013. A suicide car bomber joined by other suicide attackers on foot assaulted a provincial police headquarters in a disputed northern Iraqi city killing and wounding scores of people, police said. (AP Photo/Emad Matti)

Iraqi police and health officials say a suicide bomber has detonated his explosives belt among a group of anti-al-Qaeda fighters, killing at least four of the militiamen and wounding 23.

The police official says the men targeted by the bomber were gathering to collect their salaries on Monday morning outside one of their headquarters in the town of Taji, north of Baghdad, when the blast went off.

A medical official confirmed the casualties. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorised to release information to the media.

The blast comes a day after several suicide attackers on foot and in two explosives-laden cars hit a provincial police headquarters in Kirkuk, also north of Baghdad, killing at least 15 people and wounding 90.