Suicide bombings kill more than 30 in Baghdad, Mosul

A suicide bombing tore through a line of recruits waiting to enter a police academy as multiple blasts struck Iraqi security forces Monday, killing at least 33 people and wounding dozens including four U.S. soldiers and an Iraqi general.

The wave of violence in Baghdad and the northern city of Mosul occurred as U.S. combat deaths for November dropped to one of the lowest monthly levels of the war – eight – a sign that extremists are focusing on Iraqi forces as the U.S. scales down its battlefield role.

Insurgents appear to be increasingly targeting Iraqi forces who are more vulnerable than the heavily armored U.S. troops even as the Iraqis try to take over their own security so the Americans can go home.

The bloodiest attack in the capital began when a suicide bomber – apparently a teenage boy – detonated an explosives vest packed with ball-bearings as recruits were lined up to be searched at an entrance to the heavily fortified Baghdad police academy.

Within minutes, a car parked about 150 yards away exploded, apparently aimed at those responding to the initial blast, the U.S. military said.

At least 16 people – five policemen and 11 recruits – were killed and nearly 50 wounded, according to police and hospital officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to release the information.