Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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January 16, 2008

Female Suicide Bomber Kills 8 in Northern Iraq
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1AF0318:A6F02AD83191E160A872C3B0E1B86E25D937473925D9872C& Officials say
several others wounded in attack on crowded market near Baquba





A man injured in a suicide attack lies inside a hospital in Baghdad,
Iraq, 16 Jan 2008Iraqi security officials say at least eight people
were killed when a female suicide bomber blew herself up in a crowded
market in a small town north of Baghdad.

Officials say several others were wounded in the attack Wednesday, in
the mainly Shi'ite town of Khan Bani Saad near Baquba - capital of the
volatile Diyala province.

The U.S. military this month launched a new offensive in Diyala aimed
at driving out al-Qaida in Iraq insurgents from the religiously mixed
province.

In other news, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made an
unannounced visit Tuesday to Baghdad, where she praised recent steps
towards national reconciliation.

Speaking in the Iraqi capital, Rice welcomed the Iraqi parliament's
recent passage of a law Saturday, allowing former members of Saddam
Hussein's Baath Party to regain government jobs.

Rice said passage of the new law is a sign reconciliation is moving
along.

At the same time, she said much more work remains, including passage
of a bill on sharing oil revenues and another on provincial elections.

During her brief stay in Baghdad, Rice also briefed Iraqi Prime
Minister Nouri al-Maliki on President Bush's Middle East tour.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.


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