New York - The United Nations on Thursday strongly condemned the suicide bombing in northern Iraq that killed 45 people and wounded close to 90 others as Muslims gathered on the last day of the holiday Eid al-Adha.

Stefan di Mistura, the UN special envoy for Iraq, said, "This appalling attack targeting scores of people during a religious holiday in an especially sensitive city seems deliberately designed to provoke revenge and further inflame ethnic tensions."

The suicide bomber died when he detonated the bomb at the crowded restaurant. (dpa)