A suicide bomber blew himself up at a military recruiting center in Baghdad on Thursday, killing at least 12 people – an attack that was likely retaliation for the Iraqi government’s campaign to retake two cities overrun by al-Qaida militants. The attacker detonated his explosives outside the recruiting center in the city’s central Allawi neighborhood as volunteers were waiting to register inside, according to a police official. At least 25 people were wounded in the blast, he said. A hospital official confirmed the casualty numbers. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but suicide attacks are the hallmark of al-Qaida’s Iraq branch, known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Its fighters last week overran parts of the key cities of Fallujah and Ramadi, both […]