Two Iraqi politicians killed in Baghdad blast

Two Iraqi politicians were killed today when a bomb rocked the parliament building in the heavily-fortified Baghdad Green Zone.

The bombing was a stunning security breach in the third month of a US-Iraqi crackdown on violence in the capital, officials said.

At least four other people were wounded in the blast, which shook a cafeteria while several politicians were eating lunch, initial reports said.

Mohammed Awad, a member of the Sunni National Dialogue Front, was killed in the blast, said Saleh al-Mutlaq, the leader of the party, which holds 11 seats in Iraq’s legislature. Another female Sunni politician from the same list was wounded, he said.

A security official at the parliament building said a second politician, a Shiite member, was also killed.

Apparently concerned that an attack might take place, security officials at the parliament were using sniffer dogs earlier today as people entered the building - a rare precaution.

A spokesman for the US Embassy in Baghdad, which is also in the Green Zone, said no Americans were injured in the blast.

“We are aware of reports of an explosion in the Green Zone. We are investigating the nature and source of the explosion,” spokesman Lou Fintor said. “No Embassy employees or U.S. citizens were affected.”

The attack came hours after a suicide truck bomb exploded on a major bridge in Baghdad, collapsing the steel structure and sending cars tumbling into the Tigris River below, police and witnesses said. At least 10 people were killed.