 A bomber has blown up his pick-up truck in a crowded Tal Afar market, killing at least 17 people and wounding 35 in a city the US president had cited as a success story in the battle against Iraqi fighters. The bomber struck about 8.30pm as shoppers were making last-minute purchases before closing time, according to police Colonel Abdul-Karim Mohammed, who gave the casualty figures. The director of the city hospital, Saleh Qado, said 20 people were killed and 70 injured and that US Army medics were providing emergency treatment at the scene. Lieutenant-Colonel Ali Rasheed of Iraq's interior ministry, said the target may have been a police station within the market area of the majority Turkmen city. |