25 February 2004	Wednesday	04 Muharram 1425

DUBAI, Feb 24: A group, Ansar Al Sunna, with alleged links to Al Qaeda network, claimed responsibility on Tuesday for the suicide bombing at a police station in Kirkuk which killed seven policemen and wounded 46 other people.

"We herald you with another victory over the apostates and agents in one of their dens of evil and corruption in the city of Kirkuk," said the statement sent to the London-based Islamic Observatory Centre for Human Rights.

"One of our martyr brothers has detonated a car bomb at the Rahimawa police station inflicting, with God's aid, the enemy with the following casualties: more than 30 policemen killed and 55 injured."

The group said there were no civilian casualties. Police and hospital officials say 11 civilians were among the wounded in the Monday car bombing which authorities say was carried out by two suicide bombers and not one as the statement says.

It was not possible independently to verify the statement, which warned of further attacks. "We have more, so isn't it high time for you to wake up and spare your lives?" said the statement signed the "military command of the Ansar Al Sunna army".

Ansar Al Sunna, which is believed to be an alliance of several small groups, claimed responsibility for the Feb 1, twin suicide bombings at the offices of two Kurdish political parties in Arbil which killed 105 people.

The group also said it was behind the October attack on the Turkish embassy in Baghdad which killed the bomber and wounded six people, including two embassy employees. -AFP