US blames al-Qaida in Iraq for bombing

? The U.S. military blamed al-Qaida in Iraq on Saturday for a suicide car bombing in the northern Iraqi town of Tal Afar, while an Iraqi official said the death toll in the attack had risen to 25.

An Iraqi security official, meanwhile, said the attacker was a Sunni Turkoman who had been detained by the U.S. military but was released four months ago under an Iraqi amnesty law.

The bomber may have avoided detection at a checkpoint leading to the busy market by having a man ride with him in the passenger seat.