At least 10 policemen were among the 33 dead, according to a security official.

The blasts in Baquba, the deadliest to hit the country in nearly a month, also wounded 55 people and spurred security forces to impose an immediate curfew on the city, 60km north of Baghdad.

The attacks came despite tightened security across Iraq before the vote on March 7 and after the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, threatened to disrupt the election by ‘military means’.

Two near-simultaneous suicide vehicle bombs ripped through the provincial housing department's offices and a nearby traffic intersection at around 9:30 am (0630 GMT), the security official from Baquba operations command said.

A bomber in police uniform then rode with wounded victims in an ambulance to the hospital where he blew himself up, said Major Ghaleb al-Juburi, Baquba police spokesman.

AFP