Police say death toll in Iraq blast reaches 9

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Iraqi security officials said that at least nine people have been killed in a suicide bombing in the northeastern Diyala province. Tuesday's blast struck the town of Jalula but officials have offered conflicting reports about the circumstances of the explosion and the casualty count. Col. Sarchal Abdul-Karim of the Iraqi border guards in the area says nine people were killed and 25 wounded. Local police have put the number of dead at 12 and said 40 people were wounded. Diyala is a stronghold of Sunni insurgents and has been the scene of much of the recent violence in Iraq.