A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a police recruiting centre in Baghdad early today, killing at least 23 people and wounding about 50, police said.
Crowds of recruits had been gathering outside the centre in western Baghdad's Nissur Square when the bomber detonated explosives strapped to his body at exactly 10am (0700 GMT) police Lt. Maitham Abdul-Razaq said.
Abdul-Razaq said the death toll was expected to rise because many of the injuries were extremely serious.
Police later reported the death toll had risen to 33.