Iraq: 20 Dead, Dozens Hurt In Suicide Blast

A suicide bomber has killed 20 people and wounded dozens during a political rally in the Iraqi city of Baqouba, according to officials.

The bomber detonated his explosives as Muthana al-Jourani, a Sunni candidate for the provincial council, was hosting lunch for supporters in a large hospitality tent pitched next to his house, councilman Sadiq al-Huseini said.

The city, some 35 miles north-east of Baghdad and made up of Sunni and Shi'ite residents, has been a focus of insurgent attacks and sectarian conflict over the past 10 years.

The latest attack comes ahead of provincial elections on April 20.

A police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity said the politician, who was injured in the attack, had not requested any extra security for the event.

Eyewitness Ahmad al-Hadlouj, a 34-year-old who was wounded in the blast, said hundreds of people had gathered in the side street for the rally. His father, a member of the candidate's political bloc, was also wounded.

"This is our blood (shed) for the people," said Mr al-Hadlouj. "We will still participate in elections."

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the police officer said the attack was the hallmark of al-Qaeda militants who have used suicide bombers, car bombings and coordinated attacks to shake security in Iraq, hoping that will undermine confidence in the Shiite-led government.

The hard-line Sunni extremists see Shiites and those who work with them as heretics.

A wave of deadly bombings and attacks in March prompted Iraqi officials to conclude that al-Qaeda's Iraqi branch, known as the Islamic State of Iraq, has been getting stronger.

They say rising lawlessness on the Syria-Iraq frontier and cross-border cooperation with the Syrian militant group Nusra Front has improved the militants' supply of weapons and foreign fighters.

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