At least 23 people have died in two suicide bombs in the central Iraqi city of Ramadi, with conflicting reports about the provincial governor's fate.
Police and state TV said Anbar Governor Qassim Mohammed was dead, although his deputy said he had only been wounded.
The attacks struck in quick succession in the same street in the provincial capital.
Analysts have blamed recent attacks in Iraq on al-Qaeda trying to destabilise the country ahead of March elections.
The bombers are reported to have exploded their devices after driving what appeared to be official vehicles in to Ramadi's green zone, where government buildings are located under heavy protection.
The first bomb went off near the entrance to the provincial council.
A short time later the second bomb was detonated at the other end of the same street.
The governor was said to have been injured when the second attacker struck after he came out of his office to inspect damage from the initial blast.
The BBC's Jim Muir in Baghdad says that while Anbar has been generally quiet, the number of attacks has been rising in recent months, a worrying development in advance of March's general elections.
It was the heart of Iraq's Sunni Islamist insurgency following the US-led overthrow of Saddam Hussein, but became relatively secure after local tribal leaders turned against al-Qaeda in 2006.
