Car bomb kills 30 north of Baghdad

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A suicide car bomb killed 30 people and wounded 47 others outside a police station in a predominantly Shi'ite town north of Baghdad on Friday, Iraqi police said.

The attack in Dujail, Salahuddin province, was one of the deadliest in Iraq in months and shows militants are still capable of carrying out large-scale bombings despite major security gains across the country.

Major Ahmed Subhi, head of an anti-terrorism unit in the province, told Reuters that 30 people were killed and 47 wounded.

Police said the bombing occurred just before dusk, when many people were on the streets before the breaking of the fast during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.

They said casualties were a mix of civilians shopping at a nearby market as well as police.

Dujail lies 50 km (30 miles) north of Baghdad.

The attack bore the hallmarks of Sunni Islamist al Qaeda.

A series of military offensives by U.S. and Iraqi forces has significantly weakened the militant group and forced its fighters into northern provinces such as Salahuddin.

Violence overall in Iraq has fallen to levels not seen since early 2004. Those security gains have allowed U.S. forces to begin withdrawing from Iraq.