A suicide bomber killed 29 people and wounded 66 at a political rally Saturday in the central Iraqi city of Baquba, police said, DPA reported.
The bomber blew himself up as Muthana al-Jourani, a Sunni Muslim candidate campaigning for provincial elections due April 20, was hosting a lunch for his supporters. Al-Jourani survived.
Elections will be held in 12 of Iraq's 18 provinces. The Sunni-dominated province of Anbar is one of six provinces where ballots will not be cast because of security concerns, the authorities say.
Gunmen meanwhile killed two people, including a police officer, in the village of al-Sadrani south of Baquba, security officials said.
Iraq has witnessed near-daily attacks since US troops withdrew in December 2011, raising fears of a return to the sectarian tensions that drove the country to the brink of civil war in 2006 and 2007.
The violence comes amid a widening crisis between the Shiite-led government and the country's once-dominant Sunni minority.
Thousands of Sunni protesters have been holding protests for more than 100 days to demand that Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki repeal laws they claim target Sunnis.