Soldiers killed in Iraqi bombing

A suicide bomber has killed nine people by blowing himself up among soldiers and civilians celebrating Iraq's national Army Day holiday in central Baghdad. The suicide bomber struck as an elderly man was placing flowers into the barrels of three Iraqi soldiers' rifles on Sunday. He and the soldiers were among the casualties.

Witnesses said the suicide bomber, wearing an explosives vest, tried to gain access to the offices of the Iraqi Unity Gathering, a non-governmental group hosting an Army Day event for army officers, most of whom attended in civilian clothes. > One police official said nine people were killed including two soldiers, three policemen and four civilians, and 17 people wounded, including seven soldiers and policemen. A second police source put the death toll at eight.

Military event

Army Day marks the 87th anniversary of the formation of the first Iraqi army regiment. Tribal leaders from both of Iraq's religious sects and clerics were present at Sunday's ceremony, held in a house in a residential neighbourhood in Karrada district