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BAGHDAD (Iraq): With still more of the six dozen injured people succumbing to wounds – the death toll from market blast in the northern Iraqi town of Tal Afar – rose to 30 on Saturday.

The town was under an indefinite curfew following Friday's bombing, according to an official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to the speak to the media.

The official, who was familiar with the police investigation, said the blast was carried out by a lone suicide bomber from Tal Afar, whose identity was established after forensic tests on his remains. The bomber had been released from detention four months ago under an amnesty passed by parliament earlier this year, he added.

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, said the official. The passenger got off after the checkpoint, he added, quoting witness reports.

Suicide car bombers are known to mostly ride alone, so having a fellow passenger could help avoid detection. Tal Afar, a frequent target of suicide bombings, has banned men from driving alone.

The top U.S. diplomat and military commander in Iraq condemned the attack in Tal Afar, located 260 miles northwest of Baghdad.

Ambassador Ryan Crocker and Gen. David Petraeus said in a joint statement Saturday that the "senseless" attack will further unite the Iraqi people to reject al-Qaida in Iraq and the "indiscriminate" violence it inflicts on civilians.

The bombing, which bore the hallmarks of al-Qaida, could further stoke tensions among ethnic groups in northern Iraq, embroiled in a dispute over control of the oil-rich region of Kirkuk.

Northern Iraq has been getting the lion's share of insurgent attacks while the rest of the country has seen lowest levels of violence in four years. That improvement has been attributed to the dispatch of additional U.S. troops last year, a cease-fire by a Shiite militia and a revolt by Sunni tribesmen against the al-Qaida in Iraq.

But Friday's deadly bombing was a grim reminder that al-Qaida in Iraq and other militant groups remain capable of executing major attacks, despite the presence of about 145,000 U.S. troops and improved Iraqi security forces.

Meanwhile, Georgia — the third largest contributor to the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq — said it's pulling out its 2,000-strong contingent from Iraq to join the fighting in the breakaway province of South Ossetia.

Col. Bondo Maisuradze, commander of the Georgia brigade, told a foreign news agency that all his troops would be leaving, but he couldn't say when because transportation arrangements had not been finalized. "All the Georgian guys will be leaving for the homeland," he said.

A U.S. military spokesman said the departure of the Georgians will have "some impact" in the near term but no significant long-term effect on Iraq's security. The Georgians have asked the United States to provide transportation, and U.S. spokesman Capt. Charles G. Calio said all options are being considered.

In scattered violence Saturday, a bodyguard who works for Youth and Sports minister Jassim Mohammed Ja'afar was gunned down outside his home near the city of Kirkuk, according to a police source who did not want to be named because he is not authorized to disclose the information.

Also in northern Iraq, unidentified gunmen shot dead a 50-year-old woman outside her home in the al-Maamoun district in Mosul, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad.