Iraqi security officials say a car bomb blast outside a police academy in Baghdad has killed at least 19 recruits and officers and wounded more than 26 in the deadliest attack for weeks in the capital.
Police say a suicide bomber detonated his car as the recruits exited the compound's security barriers in northeastern Baghdad Sunday.
Hospital officials say five police officers were among the dead. The rest were cadets. Iraqi police recruits have been attacked repeatedly as suicide bombers have infiltrated protection barriers and other checkpoints throughout the country.
The bombing breaks a short period of relative calm that accompanied an easing of a political crisis pitting Shi'ite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki against senior members of the Sunni-backed Iraqiya bloc. Late last month, a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-packed vehicle near a Shi'ite funeral procession in Baghdad, killing at least 31 people.
No one has claimed responsibility for Sunday's attack. Last week, Iraqi and U.S. officials said the Sunni Muslim extremist network al-Qaida - for whom suicide bombings are a favored tactic - remains a potent threat in Iraq.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
A  in the Iraqi capital Baghdad yesterday has killed at least eighteen people, all of whom were either police officers or cadets.  has cited the death toll as nineteen. At least 26 injuries have also been reported as a result of the incident.

According to police, the perpetrator detonated his car as police recruits exited the security barriers of a compound in the north-east of the city. A policeman informed '''' of sighting "body parts scattered on the ground and boots and berets covered with blood" at the scene, as well as various vehicles burning.

As of yet, no group has accepted responsibility for the suicide bombing. However, Al-Qaeda characteristically uses attacks of this nature, according to ''''.

This attack is reportedly the deadliest in the country since 31 individuals were killed on January 27 as the result of a suicide bomb attack outside a Baghdad hospital, in which a vehicle filled with explosives was detonated.