Two suicide bombers detonated themselves near a restaurant frequented by Baghdad police this morning, killing at least 33 people and injuring 19, police said.
It was one of the biggest attacks in recent weeks and came the day after at least six people were killed and 25 wounded when two car bombs exploded near a police station and a mosque in a mainly Shia area of Baghdad.
The loud explosion, which could be heard from several kilometres away, rocking the city shortly after 9.30am (6.30 Irish time).
"Body parts are all over the place, we are still collecting them," a police officer on the scene said. He said at least four Iraqi policemen were eating breakfast at the restaurant when the bomber struck.
The police official said the restaurant was thought to be regularly frequented by Iraqi security force members.
One witness, Kadhem Mohammed, said two Iraqi army cars had arrived at the restaurant around 15 minutes before the blast.
At least four Iraqi police patrols were eating breakfast at the crowded restaurant when the bomber, wearing an explosive vest and carrying a bag of explosives, struck, police said.
A police officer who identified himself only as Ahmed said: "We were on patrol ... We heard the blast and I was the first one to arrive on the scene. There were 32 dead and some of the wounded died while we were taking them to hospital."
An unverified statement on an Islamist website used by al-Qaeda said: "A lion from our martyrs' brigade embedded himself among the infidel police and security forces in the restaurant."
The statement said the attack was part of an al Qaeda campaign to avenge raids by US and Iraqi forces on suspected militant strongholds around Qaim, in western Iraq near the Syrian border.
The Shia - and Kurdish-led government is fighting a Sunni Arab insurgency that has killed thousands of people since the March 2003 US-led invasion.
Security forces protecting the US-backed, Shi'ite-led government are targets of Sunni Arab rebels and Islamist al-Qaeda groups led by Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
Meanwhile, a car bomb at an army recruitment station in Tikrit, north of Baghdad, killed 10 people today and wounded 20 more.
The US, which has 150,000 troops in Iraq, is hoping that December 15th elections will move the country towards stability, but sectarian tensions remain and revolt shows no sign of abating.
Suicide attacks, roadside bombs and gunmen kill dozens of people every day. Some are targeted attacks on government officials or other public figures, many others kill unknown victims in markets, mosques or restaurants.