Suicide truck bomb kills 8 as Iraq unrest spikes

BAGHDAD: A suicide truck bomber killed eight people at a police headquarters on Monday as data showed March was Iraq's deadliest month since August, raising fears of a surge in violence leading up to elections.

The latest attack, in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, comes as Iraq marks 10 years since the US-led invasion of the country that intended to oust Saddam and install a stable, democratic ally in the Middle East but instead unleashed brutal violence and endless political disputes.

The attacker detonated the tanker truck at a police headquarters in Tikrit, 160 kilometres (100 miles) north of Baghdad, killing eight people and wounding 14, police and medics said.

Most of the casualties in the attack, which struck in morning rush hour, were police, the sources added.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.