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Explosive device goes off at checkpoint north of Baghdad

  • Story Highlights
  • NEW: No one injured after female suicide bomber's explosive device detonates
  • 11 decomposed bodies found on farm in Salaheddin province
  • 5 were Iraqi police officers kidnapped by al Qaeda in Iraq last year
  • Bomb on trailer in Sunni area kills Iraqi soldier, wounds two
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From Mohammed Tawfeeq
CNN
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BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- An explosive device went off Saturday after a female suicide bomber was challenged at a checkpoint north of Baghdad, but no one was injured, the U.S. military said.

The incident happened in Dhuluiya, a Sunni town about 56 miles (90 kilometers) north of Baghdad, according to an official with the town's police.

Earlier, a local police official said five people had been wounded in the incident. But the U.S. military, which confirmed the attack in a written statement, said there were no deaths or injuries.

It was unclear whether the woman was killed or injured, the military said.

The police official said the checkpoint was guarded by members of a local Awakening Council, a group consisting mainly of former Sunni insurgents who turned against al Qaeda in Iraq. The U.S. military credits them with playing a key role in the recent nationwide drop in violence.

But the U.S. military said the checkpoint was staffed by U.S. and Iraqi forces.

The military said an Iraqi police officer at the checkpoint fired at the woman after she failed to obey orders to stop. It was unclear whether the gunfire caused the bomb to go off or the bomber set it off, the military said.

More than 30 female suicide bombers have carried out attacks this year.

Awakening Councils are groups consisting mainly of former Sunni insurgents who turned against al Qaeda in Iraq.

In other developments:

Eleven decomposed bodies were found near a farm in Banat al-Hassan, a town about 21 miles (35 kilometers) northeast of Samarra in Salaheddin province, a police spokesman said. Five were identified as Iraqi police officers who were kidnapped last year by al-Qaeda in Iraq. Iraqi police also discovered a torture room in the same area, Samarra police spokesman Capt. Taha Shihab said. It was not immediately known how the 11 people died.

• Coalition forces have captured two suspected terrorists in separate operations near Taji, about 11 miles (18 kilometers) north of Baghdad, according to the U.S. military.

The first man is believed to be a member of an al Qaeda in Iraq network and reportedly helps provide forged identification documents for group operatives, the U.S. military said.

Intelligence reports suggest the second man recruits suicide bombers for al Qaeda in Iraq, the military said.

• Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheik Khalid bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa arrived in Baghdad on Saturday for a one-day visit with his Iraqi counterpart, an official with Iraq's foreign ministry said.

Al-Khalifa plans to meet with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari to talk about the relationship between the two countries, as well as other issues, the official said.

Zebari is expected to hold a news conference Saturday to discuss the meeting.

• An official with Iraq's Interior Ministry said a bomb attached to a trailer used by Iraqi soldiers exploded in Amriya, a Sunni neighborhood in western Baghdad, killing an Iraqi soldier and wounding two others about 6 a.m. Saturday.

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