A suicide bomber wearing an explosive vest killed seven people and wounded 20 today in Baquba, capital of Iraq's volatile Diyala province north of Baghdad.
A police official said the bomber struck at the provincial government compound as the mayor of the Diyala town of Khalis was entering the building.
It was not immediately clear if the bomber was male or female.
Baquba has seen frequent suicide strikes which US and Iraqi authorities blame on al-Qaeda. Over the past year an increasing number of the attacks have been by female bombers.
