Monday, May 2 2005 09:13 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Mosul: Twenty people were killed and 30 wounded yesterday (May 1, 2005) when a suicide car bomb ripped through the funeral of a Kurdish official in the northern Iraqi city of Tall Afar, an official at the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) told agencies.

"Twenty people were killed and 30 wounded in the attack," said Khusru Kuran, who is also deputy Governor of the northern Nineveh province.

He said that the bomber blew up his vehicle as a large number of people were gathered to attend the funeral of a Kurdish official who was gunned down in the nearby city of Mosul on Saturday.

"Armed men then blocked the road and prevented the ambulances from reaching the victims who needed to be evacuated. There were clashes with the police and the army," he added.

Doctor Saad Mohammed, from the Tall Afar hospital, said only four dead and fifteen wounded had been brought to him.

According to witnesses in Tall Afar, the vehicle used by the bomber was a Chevrolet and it blew up at 18:00 hrs (local time) (19:30 hrs IST) as people were attending the funeral of KDP official Taleb Sayed Wahba.