suicide bombers kill 28 at Iraqi Ministry

BAGHDAD Two suicide bombers dressed as senior police officers blew themselves up inside the Iraqi Interior Ministry compound in Baghdad on Monday, killing 28 people and wounding 25 as officials marked National Police Day.



Police said one bomber had been wearing the uniform of a major while the second was dressed as a lieutenant-colonel. Both had difficult-to-obtain security passes which enabled them to enter separately through the main checkpoint.

As one of the bombers walked away from the checkpoint, Interior Ministry guards became suspicious because he appeared to be "too fat", police told Reuters.

They opened fire, shooting him in the back and hitting the bulky explosives belt he was wearing beneath his uniform, causing him to explode. As the guards gathered around the blast site, the second bomber, who had not yet apparently aroused suspicion, detonated his explosives, blowing up policemen and ministry civilian staff.

"We want to know where they got their security badges from," a police source told Reuters.

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