17 killed in twin bombings in Iraq

At least 17 people were killed and 65 injured Sunday in twin bombings targeting a Kurdish party office and security headquarters in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala, a police source said.

The attack occurred in the morning when a booby-trapped car exploded at a parking lot outside the office of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and nearby security headquarters in the city of Jalawlaa, 130 km northeast of Baghdad, the source told Xinhua.

Minutes later a suicide bomber blew himself up amidst a crowd of security personnel, party members and civilians who gathered on the site of the first blast, the source said.

Four Kurdish security officers were among the killed, while many of the injured were security members and party officials, the source added.

He said the powerful blasts also caused severe damages to the headquarters and the PUK office, which is headed by the Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.