RAMADI, Iraq: Twin attacks in the western Iraqi city of Ramadi on Wednesday killed 23 people and wounded 30, including the governor of Anbar province, the city's main hospital said.

The first attack struck near a security checkpoint at a road junction leading to the governorate offices in the centre of the Anbar provincial capital at around 9:30 am (0630 GMT).

A separate bombing 30 minutes later at the entrance to the governorate building some 200 metres (yards) away hit the convoy of governor Qassim Mohammed Abid as it was leaving, wounding him.

“The latest toll is 23 dead and 30 wounded,” said a doctor at Ramadi General Hospital, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“The governor is wounded. American forces came and took him for more treatment.” The US military did not immediately confirm that its troops took Abid to a US-run hospital when contacted by AFP.

A source at the hospital said that, after the first attack took place near the provincial headquarters, the governor came out from his office to inspect the damage. It was then that the second attacker struck.

One of the attackers was a man working as a bodyguard for the governor, Al Iraqiya state television reported. Police said that governor Mohammed seemed to be the target of at least one of the attacks.

Wednesday's attacks mirrored coordinated bombings in Ramadi on October 11, when 19 people were killed and more than 80 wounded.

At the time, a bomb went off at midday (0900 GMT) close to the offices of the provincial governor in a civilian car park, speeding the arrival of firemen and police.

A second car bomb then exploded, leading police to seal off the area, which was littered with body parts.

Shortly afterwards at Ramadi General Hospital, where victims had been rushed for treatment, a suicide bomber struck.

Ramadi, 100 kilometres (65 miles) west of Baghdad, was a key insurgent base in the aftermath of the US-led invasion of 2003.

Anbar, Iraq's biggest province, became the theatre of a brutal war focused on the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi, while several towns along the Euphrates river valley became insurgent strongholds and later safe havens for fighters.

But since 2006, local Sunni tribes have sided with the US military. Daily violence has dropped dramatically as Al-Qaeda fighters have been ejected from the region.

Although attacks have dropped markedly across the country compared to last year, violence remains high by international standards.

And while November saw the fewest deaths as a result of violence of any month since the invasion, December has seen higher death tolls, notably as a result of December 8 bombings in Baghdad that killed 127 people. –AgenciesLINK