A SUICIDE car bomber blew his vehicle up outside a police station in the restive Iraqi town of Baquba yesterday, killing two people and wounding more than 20, local police, doctors and US military said.

?A suicide bomber in a green civilian sedan targeted the quick reaction police force,? First Lieutenant Brian Elliott of the US 4th Infantry Division told Reuters at the scene.

?The two dead were civilians and we have admitted 26 people for injuries, many of them police,? said Moham-med Apiya Jibouri, the deputy head of Baquba General Hospital.

A police officer at the scene said he saw the car racing towards the police station seconds before it detonated about 50 feet from the entrance to the compound. He said police had fired on the vehicle but the driver didn?t stop. One policeman at the scene said it appeared the bomber had tied his foot to the accelerator to make sure the car would speed ahead even if he was killed.

The police said they had spoken to the driver moments before the attack and told him to get away from the area as it was a secure zone. They said the man spoke with something other than an Iraqi accent.

US officials blame loyalists to the former regime for most attacks on US troops and local security forces. But they also believe that some foreign fighters have made their way into the country and may be responsible for suicide bombings.

Baquba, about 65 km north of Baghdad, is a hotbed of anti-American insurgency and has grown increasingly restive recently. US forces carry out near daily raids in and around the town searching for guerrilla suspects.

As well as attacking US troops, insurgents have also targeted police and others seen to be collaborating with the US occupation.

Twin car bomb attacks on police stations in Baquba and Khan Bani Saad in November killed 16 and wounded more than 30. A bomb strapped to a bicycle exploded outside a Shi?ite mosque after last Friday?s prayers, killing six. A car bomb at a nearby mosque was defused.

Suleiman al-Khalidi