At least 17 people have been killed by a car bomb in the central Iraqi town of Khalis, officials say.
The explosion, about 49 miles (80km) north-east of the capital, Baghdad, was "very strong" a provincial official said.
A security source said that 22 people had been injured in the explosion on Monday morning at checkpoint about two miles west of Khalis town centre.
A police officer at the scene said a suicide car bomber was responsible.
"We still have charred bodies inside many vehicles including a minibus packed with women and children," Reuters cited the captain, requesting anonymity, as saying.
The representative of Diyala province, Adi al-Khadran, said that several vehicles had been set ablaze in the blast.
