Insurgents in Iraq have launched new attacks Thursday on police and U.S. troops, killing at least 17 people.
In the deadliest blast, witnesses say a suicide bomber, dressed in a police uniform, drove into the compound of the Tikrit police headquarters and detonated his vehicle. The massive explosion in Saddam Hussein's hometown killed at least 12 people, wounded 35, and set a dozen cars on fire.
South of the capital, in Iskandariya, an explosion near a police convoy killed two policemen and at least one civilian.
Despite the continued violence against Iraqi police, nearly 2,000 new recruits, including 46 women, graduated this week from police training courses in Sulaymaniyeh and Baghdad.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military says two American soldiers were killed and another two were wounded in separate roadside bombings north of Baghdad.