Iraq suicide bomb kills 17 at police forensics lab

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A suicide blast killed at least 17 people at a police forensics office in Baghdad on Tuesday, officials said, the latest attack to raise doubts about Iraq''s ability to keep people safe weeks before a national election.

Two of the hotels are used by western visitors and media and the U.S. military commander said the attacks might be aimed at deterring foreign companies, and preventing Iraq from securing the investment it needs for future prosperity and stability.

An Interior Ministry official said many of those killed or injured in Tuesday''s blast, in which the driver of a vehicle detonated explosives outside the forensics office, were police.

About 80 people were wounded, the official said.

The bombings have shattered a seven-week lull in major assaults on government buildings and other supposedly secure targets, stoking tensions before March 7 parliamentary polls.

They are a blow to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who is seeking a second term, and other incumbent politicians who hope voters will credit them for a sharp reduction in violence in Iraq over the past two years.

Major General Qassim al-Moussawi, spokesman for Baghdad security operations, put the death toll in Tuesday''s bombing at nine and said 68 had been wounded. A Health Ministry official gave the same toll. Death tolls often vary wildly after bomb blasts in Iraq.

Ambulances and firefighters rushed to the scene. The ministry building, which is surrounded by restaurants and shops, suffered major damage, a Reuters photographer reported.

"I''ve heard many explosions in the past, but nothing like this," said Hassan al-Saidi, a mechanic who works nearby. He said he saw at least five vehicles in flames and more than a dozen people wounded by flying glass.

CHANGING NATURE OF INSURGENCY

Moussawi, speaking before Tuesday''s suicide attack, said officials had tightened security after the hotel blasts and had formed a committee to probe insurgents'' tactics and weaponry.