Monday, July 16, 2007
Twin car bombings kill 80 in Kirkuk
Security
(AP) - Twin suicide car bombings exploded within 20 minutes of each other in the northern city of Kirkuk on Monday, killing at least 80 people and wounding around 150 in attacks targeting a Kurdish political office and ripping through an outdoor market, police said. The attacks began around noon when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives-packed truck near the concrete blast walls of the headquarters of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the party of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.
The explosion blasted a 10-yard-deep crater in the pavement and collapsed part of the roof of the one-story PUK office. Outside the offices, the burnt shells of more than two dozen vehicles were in the street. Soon after, the second bomber attacked the Haseer market, 700 yards away, destroying stalls and cars, said Kirkuk police Brig. Sarhat Qadir.
The outdoor Haseer market, with stalls of vegetable and fruit sellers, is frequented by Kurds in Kirkuk, a city where tensions are high between the Kurdish and Arab populations. At least 80 people were killed and around 140 wounded, said police Brig. Burhan Tayeb Taha. The attack came just over a week after one of the Iraq conflict's deadliest suicide attacks hit a village about 50 miles south of Kirkuk, killing more than 160 people.
Iraqi officials have said Sunni insurgents are moving further north to carry out attacks, fleeing U.S. offensives in and around Baghdad, including in the city of Baqouba, a stronghold of extremists on the capital's northwestern doorstep. The month-old sweeps aim to pacify the capital and boost the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
The explosion blasted a 10-yard-deep crater in the pavement and collapsed part of the roof of the one-story PUK office. Outside the offices, the burnt shells of more than two dozen vehicles were in the street. Soon after, the second bomber attacked the Haseer market, 700 yards away, destroying stalls and cars, said Kirkuk police Brig. Sarhat Qadir.
The outdoor Haseer market, with stalls of vegetable and fruit sellers, is frequented by Kurds in Kirkuk, a city where tensions are high between the Kurdish and Arab populations. At least 80 people were killed and around 140 wounded, said police Brig. Burhan Tayeb Taha. The attack came just over a week after one of the Iraq conflict's deadliest suicide attacks hit a village about 50 miles south of Kirkuk, killing more than 160 people.
Iraqi officials have said Sunni insurgents are moving further north to carry out attacks, fleeing U.S. offensives in and around Baghdad, including in the city of Baqouba, a stronghold of extremists on the capital's northwestern doorstep. The month-old sweeps aim to pacify the capital and boost the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
COMMENT: Retribution attacks are likely to increase in the Kirkuk area during the run-up to Article 140 of the constitution which states a referendum will be held on the status of the oil-rich, multi-ethnic Kirkuk, which will determine whether it will become part of Kurdistan or Iraq. The referendum was supposed to be held in September but the central Baghdad government and the Kurdistan Regional Government are in dispute over whether to hold it now or delay it.
Although insurgent activity can never be ruled out in order to stoke sectarian violence, it is possible the bombings were carried out by the other minorities in Kirkuk who do not want to become part of Kurdistan. However, the attack does bear the hall marks of Sunni insurgents. COMMENT ENDS.
Labels: Haseer market, Kirkuk, PUK, suicide car bomber, Sunni insurgents
