Suicide bomber targets Iraqi police

Posted September 17, 2006 19:09:00

Iraqi police say a suicide bomber firing a machine gun with one hand has exploded his truck near a police centre, killing at least 18 people and wounding 65 in the northern oil city of Kirkuk.

Four other explosions have claimed four more lives elsewhere around the city.

The suicide bomber has detonated his truck in front of a police investigation centre in Kirkuk, a city claimed by both the Arabs and the Kurds.

Many of the wounded are police officers, including the head of the investigation centre.

A Kirkuk police officer said: "He drove towards the centre, firing the gun with one hand randomly to push back civilians, and then detonated the truck in front of the centre".

About half-an-hour later, a bomb has exploded in front of the city's Love and Forgiveness foundation, killing one woman and wounding four others.

The organisation closed its doors a week ago after receiving threats from the Al Qaeda-linked Ansar al-Sunna organisation.

The building was owned by a local tribal sheikh, who had recently called for Saddam Hussein's release and reinstatement.

A second car bomb has exploded outside the offices of a private security company, killing two people and wounding another three.

A pair of roadside bombs have also gone off within five minutes of each other, targeting a passing police patrol in the city, killing a civilian and wounding 12 others

Kirkuk, a fragile ethnic mix of Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen, has long been a flashpoint in the country, especially with the potential revenues from the massive and largely unexploited oil reserves beneath the city.

Violence between the communities was kept to a minimum until recently, partly due to political institutions, including a strong provincial council.

But there has been a sharp increase in the number of explosions and car bombs in the past few months.

US forces in the area have attributed the bombing campaign to groups with links to Al Qaeda seeking to spark civil conflict.


Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, iraq