Another Funeral Bombing

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March 23, 2009

Funeral bombing kills at least 14 in Iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A suicide bomb exploded at a Kurdish funeral in the northern Iraqi town of Jalawla Monday evening, killing at least 14 people and wounding 31 others, according to local police.

The bombing happened at the funeral for the father of Kurdish regional government official Hameed Khudadat, an interior ministry official said.

The bomber detonated an explosives vest inside the tent where friends and neighbors were gathered to give their condolences to the family, police said.

It was not immediately known if any Kurdish officials were among the dead and wounded.

Jalawla, about 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Baquba, is a mostly Kurdish town in Iraq's Diyala province. TheKurdish regional government and Iraq's central government are in a dispute over who should control the area.

Earlier Monday a bomb exploded in western Baghdad killing nine civilians and wounding 23 others, an official with Iraq's interior ministry said.

The bomb was planted near auto mechanic shops in a commercial area of Abu Ghraib district, the official said.

The explosion took place at about 1 p.m. local time (6 a.m. ET).