A car bomb at the entrance to an Iraqi army base while new recruits were massed at the gate killed at least 25 people on Tuesday, in the country's deadliest single attack in more than three months.
The attack was not owned by any group, but previous bombings against security force recruitment drives have been claimed by al Qaeda's front group in Iraq, which views soldiers, policemen and civil servants as supporters of the Baghdad government.
The midday (0900 GMT) blast in the town of Taji, 25 kilometres (15 miles) north of the capital, is likely to raise fresh concerns about the capabilities of Iraq's security forces 11 months after the departure of American troops.
A medic put the toll at 25 dead and 40 wounded from the car bomb, while an interior ministry official said 26 people were killed and 30 were hurt. It was not immediately clear how many of the victims were soldiers or new recruits. Differing tolls and breakdowns of casualty figures are common in the chaotic aftermath of violence in Iraq, which is typically carried out by Sunni militants bent on targeting the Shia-led government and its institutions.
Heavy security was placed around Kadhimiyah hospital where many of the victims were being sent, an AFP journalist said, with family members of recruits rushing to the facility for news of their relatives.
Journalists were barred from taking photographs or speaking to victims. "I was home when the bomb went off," said a man who identified himself only as Jawad, whose son was wounded in the blast. "But when it exploded, I went straight to the hospital, because I knew my son was at the base, and I expected he would be hurt. I was right."
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