Nine killed in blast near Iraqi govt offices

Nine people have been killed and 15 others injured in an explosion outside government offices in western Iraq today.

A government official from Anbar province, where the blast took place, blamed the attack on a suicide bomber.

The explosion occurred this morning at the gate of a compound that includes the provincial governor’s office, police headquarters and courts.

A police official had initially put the casualty count at six dead and 10 wounded, but a hospital official gave the higher figures.