Suicide bomber kills at least 20 people

A SUICIDE bomber detonated half a ton of explosives outside the US seat of power in Iraq yesterday, killing at least 20 people in the deadliest attack since the capture of Saddam Hussein.

The explosion in the heart of the Iraqi capital came a day before a key meeting in New York between the United Nations, Iraq’s Governing Council and US and British officials on the political future of the country.

The bomb exploded at what the Americans call the Assassin’s Gate, the main entrance to the “Green Zone”, formerly Saddam’s Republican Palace complex and now the top-security civilian and military headquarters of the US-led administration.