A suicide bomber blew himself up among a crowd of police recruits in the restive town of Maqdadiyah on Saturday, killing 20 people and wounding 22 others, an Iraqi news channel reported.

A suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt under his police uniform blew himself up near a queue of people waiting to enter the recruitment center in the town, the Sharqiya television said.

All of the victims were new police recruits, it said.

An Interior Ministry source, who spoke anonymously, confirmed the incident, but said he had no immediate word on casualties as Diyala province, where the town located, is under the control of US and Iraqi army.

Since June 19, more than 10,000 troops, including 2,000 Iraqi soldiers and policemen, backed by US aircraft, have launched a massive assault aimed at hunting for the al-Qaida militants operating in and around Baquba, some 65 km northeast of Baghdad.

(Xinhua News Agency July 2, 2007)