Deadly Sweet Tooth, candy bomber kills 6 in iraq!

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BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Carrying explosives in a box of candy, a suicide bomber detonated in a town in Iraq's Anbar province Sunday, killing six people, including a sheikh whom the United States had recently freed, and wounded four others, an Interior Ministry official said.

The bomber was targeting Sheikh Aeifan al-Issawi and other members of the Anbar Awakening Council who were celebrating Sheikh Hadi's release from U.S. custody, the official said.

Hadi had been in U.S. custody for about five days, al-Issawi said. He said al Qaeda in Iraq had planted a bomb near Hadi's house and made it appear that the sheikh was dealing with insurgents.

The bomber handed the box of candies to Hadi, and it exploded, killing him and five others, including two guards, the Interior Ministry official said. Four others were wounded in the attack, which occurred in the Albu Aeifan area, which is about 9.3 miles (15 kilometers) west of Falluja.

Al-Issawi, who is a leading member of the Anbar Awakening Council, escaped the attack unharmed.

The official said the bomber was related to Hadi, who had also been a member of the council.

An hour after the attack, members of the Awakening Council arrested a woman wearing an explosive belt after receiving intelligence indicating five suicide bombers had entered the area on Sunday, al-Issawi said. They were still searching for three other suicide bombers, he added.

Falluja is located in Anbar province about 37 miles (60 kilometers) west of Baghdad.

The Sunni-dominated province is a place where the U.S. military is reporting more and more indigenous tribal support against al Qaeda in Iraq, although on Sunday, military spokesman Rear Adm. Gregory Smith noted that the organization has not entirely left the province.

Awakening councils, which are usually Sunni groups standing against al Qaeda in Iraq fighters, have been targeted in a spate of attacks in recent weeks.

Smith said Sunday that there were more than 130 awakening councils across the war-torn nation, with more than 80,000 members.

Earlier Sunday, at least one Iraqi civilian was killed and three police officers were wounded when a roadside bomb exploded near an Iraqi police convoy in eastern Baghdad Sunday morning, according to an Iraqi Interior Ministry official.
- Al-Issawi or Aiwass is the question?