Children killed in Iraq bomb blast outside school

Iraqi officials said at least four schoolchildren have been killed in a suicide car bomb attack in Anbar province west of Baghdad.

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BAGHDAD // Iraqi officials said at least four schoolchildren have been killed in a suicide car bomb attack in Anbar province west of Baghdad.

A provincial spokesman, Mohammed Fathi, said the bomb exploded today near a primary school in the centre of the town of Hit, 140 kilometres west of Baghdad, shortly after a police patrol passed by.

The spokesman said the blast also wounded six children.

The bombing comes a day after the start of the new school year in Iraq.

Violence has ebbed in Iraq, but insurgents still carry out frequent attacks on civilians and security forces in an attempt to shake the trust in the Shiite-led government.