Female Suicide Bomber Strikes in Central Iraq

A woman detonated a bomb today in the offices of a group fighting Al-Qaeda in central Iraq, killing 16 and injuring 27. The suicide bombing, at the Muqdadiyah office of an anti-al-Qaeda group, was the second by a woman in 2 weeks, AFP reports. Elsewhere in restive Diyala province, a bombing at a checkpoint killed 10, the BBC reports.

Recent bombings are thought to be the work of the Al-Siddiq Brigades, an al-Qaeda ally that recently warned of a campaign of violence lasting until January 29. Al-Sahwa or Awakening groups, mostly tribal Sunnis whom the US military pays to combat al-Qaeda militants who attack civilians, have sprung up around the Iraq. (More Iraq stories.)