Violence reached the heart of the Iraqi Government today when at least eight people - including three MPs - were reportedly killed and ten others wounded in a suicide attack on the canteen of the parliament building in Baghdad.

Iraqi officials and witnesses said that the bomber blew himself up on the first floor of Baghdad's convention centre, which sits in the heavily-fortified Green Zone.

The convention centre houses the Iraqi parliamentary chamber and dozens of legislative offices, and is one of the most secure buildings in the city.

Reports tonight suggest that the bomb may have been smuggled into the compound by a Sunni MP's bodyguard, which would be considered a massive security breach.

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The AP news agency tonight also claimed that two unexploded suicide vests were found near to the canteen after the bomb went off, indicating that a much bigger blast was planned.

Major General William Caldwell, of the US military, said that eight people had been killed in the attack including three MPs, although their identities have not yet been formally confirmed.

Mohammed Awad, a member of the National Dialogue Front, was reportedly named as one of those killed in the explosion by Saleh al-Mutlaq, the leader of the Sunni party.

A Kurdish MP was also reported to have died and that six of those wounded were members of the bloc loyal to the radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

A female Sunni MP is believed to be among the injured, but she has not yet been named. There are no details yet available as to the identity of the third fatality.

A witness told Reuters that the explosion happened the cash register in the canteen, which is on the same floor as the 275-seat parliamentary chamber. Legislators and their staff were having lunch between sessions when device went off, apparently carried by a man with an explosive vest.

"There was a big blast, I saw the fire. There were many, many wounded. Windows were shattered," said the witness, who was lightly wounded in the arm.

"The explosion took place in a cafeteria while several lawmakers were eating lunch," said Mohammed Abu Bakr, who heads the media department at the parliament.

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