Children among 22 killed by Iraq suicide bomb
Twenty-two people, including three children, were killed today when a suicide car bomb exploded outside a residential complex belonging to a state-run oil company in Iraq.
Eighty more victims were injured in the blast in Beiji, 155 miles north of Baghdad.
Local authorities said victims were still being pulled from the rubble of two destroyed buildings and the death toll was expected to rise.
The bomber, who was driving a pick-up truck, detonated his explosives when Iraqi police and members of a volunteer security force prevented him from entering the gate of the compound belonging to the state-run North Oil Company.
He said some of the residential buildings were damaged in the blast.
Most of the 22 killed were civilians, and at least three were children. The dead also included guards of the oil company and members of the volunteer force.
Authorities imposed a curfew on the city - home to the country's largest refinery - until further notice.
Volunteer forces known as Awakening Councils - groups of Sunni Arab fighters who have turned against al Qaida and are now funded by the US - have been credited with helping reduce violence in Iraq in recent months.
Although bombings and other attacks continue throughout the country, their number has fallen.
The US military has said there has been a 60% decrease in violence since June.
In a separate attack, four people were killed in a suicide bombing targeting a funeral procession for two members of an anti-al-Qaida organisation.
The suicide bomber detonated himself among mourners at a funeral in Baqouba, 35 miles north east of Baghdad.
At least four people were killed and 21 were injured.
The funeral was being held for two members of a US-backed anti-al-Qaida in Iraq group.
Meanwhile, the US military said troops killed 13 suspected insurgents and detained another 27 yesterday and today in operations targeting al-Qaida in the central and northern parts of the country.
