国际英语新闻：25 killed, 70 wounded in Iraq suicide bombing

BAQUBA, Iraq, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- The death toll of a suicide bombing in Iraq's Diyala province late Friday has risen to 25, while 70 others were wounded, an interior ministry source told Xinhua.

"We confirm 25 people were dead and 70 others were wounded in the blast," the source said on condition of anonymity.

"Security forces and ambulances rushed to the scene and closed the region and is currently transporting the wounded and dead bodies to hospitals," he added.

However, another source from the local police force told Xinhua that 20 were killed and 40 were wounded.

It's normal that casualty count from different government sections usually conflict each other after a major bombing in Iraq due to the disordered situation.

The bomber wearing an explosive belt blew himself up inside a popular coffee shop in the town of Balad Ruz, 30 km east of Baquba, the capital city of Diyala, the police source said on condition of anonymity.

"Most of the bodies were burned, the death toll could rise since many people were badly wounded in the blast," he said.

Diyala province, which stretches from the eastern edges of Baghdad to the Iranian border east of the country, has long been a stronghold for al-Qaida militants and other insurgent groups since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 despite repeated U.S. and Iraqi military operations against them.

Violence and sporadic high-profile attacks are still common in Iraqi cities as part of recent deterioration in security which shaped a setback to the efforts of the Iraqi government to restore normalcy in the country more than seven months after violence-torn Iraq held parliamentary elections on March 7.