Suicide Bomber Kills 9 Sunni Fighters in Iraq

A suicide bomber walked into a crowd of US-allied Sunni paramilitaries in Iraq this morning and detonated his explosives belt, killing nine and wounding 30 others waiting in line for their salaries, Iraqi police said. The explosion took place outside the military headquarters in the town of Jbala, about 35 miles south of Baghdad. The group of about 250 Awakening Council members had asked to be allowed to wait inside the compound, but the guards would only let small groups inside to get their salaries, the AP reports.

A recent spate of attacks, which this week killed at least 53 people in Baghdad alone, have raised concerns about the readiness of Iraqi forces to take over security of their country. The Iraqi government has been suspicious of the US-recruited Sunni Awakening Council fighters; their salaries have been delayed for two months and there have been concerns among the paramilitaries that the Shiite-led authorities could disband them. (More Awakening Councils stories.)