A suicide car bomb detonated Thursday at Iraq's Kurdish deputy prime minister' convoy in northern Iraq, killing at least eight people and wounding 38 others, police said.

"A suicide bomber blew up an explosive-laden vehicle at about 8:00 AM (04:00 GMT) next to the convoy of Kurdish Deputy Premier Rowsch Shaways as they passing near a restaurant on the main road in the Iraqi town of Toz Khurmatu," US-Iraqi liaison office in Tikrit said in a statement.

The blast killed eight people, including six of Shaways' bodyguards, and wounding 38 others, the statement said.

Shaways himself escaped unhurt in the attack that also destroyed several civilian cars.

(Xinhua News Agency June 2, 2005)