Up to 20 Iraqi Army recruits were killed and 65 others wounded when two suicide bombers blew themselves up at a recruitment center in the city of Baquba, capital of Diyala province, on Tuesday, an Interior Ministry source said.

The two bombers wearing explosive vests attacked in the morning dozens of young men crowded to sign up for Iraqi Army at the Saad base in the city of Baquba, about 65 km northeast of Baghdad, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Earlier, the source said a suicide bomber killed five recruits and wounded 55 others.

U.S. and Iraqi security forces cordoned off the area while ambulances and civilian cars transported the casualties to the city hospitals, he said.

Diyala province, which stretches from the eastern edges of Baghdad to the Iranian border, has long been stronghold for al- Qaida in Iraq network.

The attack in Diyala province came as the U.S. and Iraqi security forces have been conducting major offensives against extremist Sunni and Shiite militiamen across the war-torn country.

(Xinhua News Agency July 15, 2008)