BAGHDAD (AFP) — An Iraqi official on Friday blamed a recent string of attacks targeting security forces on Al-Qaeda, but said the bombings would not derail the phased withdrawal of American troops.
"(Al-Qaeda) is trying to regain power through terrorist operations aimed at proving its existence and raising its spirits ahead of the withdrawal of US forces from the cities," defence ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Askari said.
"It would be good for Al-Qaeda if US forces stayed in Iraq, because they could justify their kidnappings, bombings and killings," he told AFP.
A security pact signed with Washington in November requires the fewer than 140,000 US troops in Iraq to pull out from all cities and major towns by June 30 and complete their withdrawal from the country by the end of 2011.
Askari's remarks came a day after a suicide bomber disguised in a military uniform blew himself up inside a heavily guarded military compound west of Baghdad.
There were widely varying accounts of the toll of the attack, with Askari saying 38 soldiers were wounded. However, senior officials from the defence and interior ministries said 16 had been killed and another 50 wounded.
Civilians are not allowed into the base at Habbaniyah, and an AFP reporter who approached the compound on Thursday was turned away at an army checkpoint.
Iraqi security forces also prevented anyone from visiting the wounded soldiers at the hospitals where they were being treated.
Abdullatif Ahmad, a doctor at the main hospital in the nearby city of Ramadi, said it received 28 wounded soldiers.
Eleven were transferred to a military hospital, six were still being treated, and the rest had been discharged.
Three of the wounded soldiers in Ramadi confirmed that the bomber had been wearing military uniform, but did not report seeing any bodies.
"The suicide bomber was short with dark skin. He wore a military uniform and exploded himself after shouting loudly," said Ali Abdelhussain.
"The helmet and body armour that I was wearing saved me from the explosion, so I only have injuries in my leg and arms," he said.
He added that the Habbaniyah base hosts large numbers of Iraqi soldiers, private security contractors and US forces, and that a stranger in military uniform would not attract attention.
Another soldier who asked not to be named, and with wounds on his arms and legs, said the soldiers were gathering outside a cafeteria when a "strange young man wearing a military uniform" approached and blew himself up.
"Many were wounded, and people were running in all directions," he said.
It was the third attack in a week targeting Iraqi security forces. On Wednesday a car bomb tore through a bus filled with police in the northern city of Kirkuk, and on Saturday a suicide bomber, also disguised in a military uniform, struck inside the compound of a US-allied militia south of Baghdad.
Askari insisted that no one was killed in Thursday's attack.
"Unfortunately, some media outlets are not depending on responsible sources to provide them with information," he said.
Iraq has seen drastic improvements in security over the past two years as US and Iraqi forces have allied with local tribes and former insurgents to drive Al-Qaeda and other armed groups out of vast swathes of the country.
But attacks are still common in some parts of Iraq.
On Friday at least three people were killed and eight wounded when three mortar rounds struck houses about 15 kilometres (9 miles) south of Baghdad, interior and defence ministries sources said.
The incident took the toll of people killed since the start of the month to at least 86.
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