A suicide car bomb targeting a police checkpoint outside Ramadi City, capital of the western Anbar province, wounded 30 people, including policemen, a provincial police source said Tuesday.

The suicide bomber blew up his explosive-laden car while crashing it into a police checkpoint in the Soufiyah area, east of Ramadi at about 8:00 a.m. (0500 GMT), the souerce told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The blast destroyed several civilian cars at the checkpoint, wounding nine policemen and 21 civilians, including four women and five children, the source said.

The attack came as the Anbar province is witnessing a security improvement since the Sunni Arab tribes turned their rifles to al-Qaida fighters in Iraq, whom were accused of adopting hard-line Islam and discriminate killings.

(Xinhua News Agency April 22, 2008)