At least 85 people have been killed and 185 wounded in a suicide bomb blast in northern Iraq.
An explosive-laden truck was driven into the offices of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the party of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk.
In the minutes that followed, two further car bombs exploded in a market and near a police patrol.
The PUK offices house some local non-governmental organisations, including the city's Olympic committee, but was likely targeted as it represents a symbol of Kurdish power.
Tensions in Kirkuk have heightened in recent months due to an impending constitutional referendum to decide whether the city will join the Kurdish Regional Government.
After the toppling of the Hussein regime in 2003, Kurds streamed back into Kirkuk and now control the local government and much of the security forces.
Meanwhile, thousands of US troops have attacked suspected militant positions south of Baghdad.
The operation, called Marne Avalanche, aims to stem the flow of weapons and militant fighters into southern Baghdad.
In pre-dawn raids, helicopter-borne troops swept into an area the US military claimed was an al-Qaeda safe haven around the Euphrates river valley, 35km south of Baghdad.
