U.S. President George W. Bush on Thursday condemned the suicide bombing in the Iraqi parliament building and pledged to stand with Iraq's government to curb increasing violence.

"I strongly condemn the action. It reminds us, though, that there is an enemy willing to bomb innocent people and a symbol of democracy," Bush told reporters at the White House.

"Our hearts go out to those who suffered as a result of this bombing. Our message to the Iraqi government is we stand with you as you take the steps necessary to, not only reconcile politically, but also put a security force in place that is able to deal with these kind of people," Bush said.

"It's in our interest to help this (Iraq's) young democracy be in a position so it can sustain itself and govern itself and defend itself against these extremists and radicals," the president said.

Following Bush's condemnation, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also condemned Thursday's suicide bombing on Iraq's parliament, noting bloody attacks by islamic militants were to be expected as efforts were made to undermine U.S. progress on security. "We've said there are going to be good days and bad days concerning the security plan but the commanders are carrying on their responsibilities and working to try to make the population more secure," Rice said.

"We're really just at the beginning of this and not at the end of it," the top U.S. diplomat said.

Also on Thursday, national security spokesman Gordon Johndroe said the latest suicide bombing in Baghdad's Green Zone is an "attack on the democratically elected government of Iraq."

He said the United States and Iraq will work together to strive to prevent terror attacks.

On Thursday, a powerful blast rocked Iraq's parliament while many members of parliament were having lunch after their ordinary session.

In addition to the killed, 20 people, around 10 MPs and 10 security officials, were wounded.

The latest bloody attack occurred when U.S. forces and Iraqi authorities began launching since Feb. 14 a security crackdown in Baghdad. Violence has been continuing to rage on in Baghdad and other cities.

Source: Xinhua