Deadly car bomb rips through Iraq PS; 50 die

By: Hamoud Kufi

ISKANDARIYA, Iraq: At least 50 people, mostly civilians, were left dead and 150 wounded when a suicide bomber detonated Tuesday a pick-up truck packed with explosives outside a police station south of the Iraqi capital, Iraqi police and US military officers said.

The blast in Iskandariya, 45 kilometres (30 miles) from Baghdad, came after US officials said a terrorist with links to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network was plotting to ignite a civil war in Iraq to undermine efforts to hand over power to Iraqis.

Police Lieutenant Hussein Sami said the explosion occurred as hundreds of civilians had flocked to the station to fill in applications to join the police force. Others confirmed his account.

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