Ambulance used in Iraq suicide bomb attack

A suicide bomber drove an explosives-packed ambulance into an Iraqi guard force headquarters today killing at least seven people.

Combined with yesterday's attack that killed 65 people in a crowd of police recruits, it shattered a relative calm that had lasted for weeks across Iraq.

Both had familiar targets: Militants frequently hit Iraq's security forces to try to keep the country off balance as US troops prepare to fully withdraw at the end of this year.

In today's attack in the eastern city of Baqouba, the ambulance broke through the front gate of the Facilities Protective Services compound, which houses the local headquarters and some training grounds for the Iraqi security force responsible for guarding government buildings.

The vehicle exploded when guards opened fire to try to stop it, ripping down a nearby building