Baghdad government building bombing kills 21

Reporting from Baghdad - A suicide bomber plowed an explosives-laden vehicle into an Interior Ministry building in central Baghdad on Tuesday, killing 21 people and wounding more than 80 in an attack that raised fear that extremists are escalating a campaign of bombings aimed at destabilizing the government.

The attack came a day after bombings at three major Baghdad hotels in which 37 people died. Though the capital has seen coordinated multiple bombings several times, it has become rare for suicide attackers to strike two days in a row.

The latest attack targeted a building housing a forensic laboratory and fit a pattern of recent bombings at government institutions and high-profile landmarks as tension rises before pivotal national elections scheduled for March.