BAGHDAD POLICE ATTACK 'KILLS 28'

A suicide bomber has killed 28 people at a police recruitment centre in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, police say.

At least 57 other people were wounded in the attack, which was reported to have been carried out by a bomber who drove his motorcycle into a crowd.

The victims were queuing outside the academy when the bomber struck.

The level of violence in Iraq has dipped significantly since 2007, but it remains a feature of daily life for many Iraqis.

At least 12 people died two days ago when a car bomb exploded at a cattle market in Babil province.

The BBC's Mike Sergeant says that although there has been a substantial decline in the violence in Iraq, it does not appear such attacks are ending altogether.

There are still almost daily violent incidents in Baghdad.

Police recruitment centres have been a popular target for insurgents.

The attack happened at about 1000 (0700 GMT) in "the middle of a crowd outside the [police] academy on Palestine Street", a police official told AFP news agency.

Reports suggest the bomber detonated a belt of explosives as he drove into a line of people waiting at the back entrance to the academy. Some of the dead were policemen, while others were police recruits and civilians.

The reported death toll quickly rose, making this the deadliest suicide strike reported in Iraq for nearly a month.

The academy has been targeted before. In 2005 two female suicide bombers attacked the same building, killing 40 people.

Iraq has massively expanded its police and military forces over recent years as the government of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki seeks to ensure local forces can provide security.

US President Barack Obama says the US "combat mission" in Iraq will end by August 2010, with two-thirds of American troops scheduled to leave by that point.

BBC NEWS REPORT.