At least 35 people were killed and 28 others wounded in coordinated twin bomb attacks on a government building in north of Baghdad on Tuesday, an Interior Ministry source told Xinhua.

The incident took place around midday when a car bomb and a roadside bomb detonated outside the town council building of Taji area, some 20 km north of Baghdad, the source said on condition of anonymity.

Iraqi security forces sealed off the scene as ambulances evacuated the victims to nearby hospitals and medical centers, the source said. The toll could rise as the powerful blasts destroyed parts of the building, the source said, adding that civil defense team and security members are working at the site, removing debris and looking for more victims.

Violence and sporadic high-profile bomb attacks continue in the Iraqi cities despite the dramatic decrease of violence over the past few years.