A suicide bomber killed 11 people who were commemorating the birth of the Muslim Prophet Mohammed in the western Iraqi city of Ramadi on Thursday, police said.
The attacker detonated his explosives-packed vest at around 5:00 pm (1400 GMT) in a cultural centre where the commemorations were ongoing, an officer in the media office of the local police said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
A further 18 people were wounded in the attack, he said, including provincial deputy governor Hekmat Jassim Zaidan.
The ceremonies were part of month-long commemorations in Ramadi, capital of Anbar province and 100 kilometres (60 miles) west of the Iraqi capital, marking the prophet's birth.
Anbar was a key Sunni insurgent base for years after the 2003 US-led invasion, but since 2006 local tribes have sided with the American military and day-to-day violence has dropped dramatically.
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