Blasts in Iraq's Kirkuk kill 12, wound 39
Source: Reuters
(Updates with lower toll) KIRKUK, Iraq, March 19 (Reuters) - Two car bombs and four roadside bombs killed at least 12 people and wounded 39 more in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Monday, police said. The bombs exploded within a short time of each other in different parts of the city, which sits on some of Iraq's richest oil fields 250 km (150 miles) north of Baghdad. Initial reports had put the death toll at 18. Police Brigadier Sarhat Qader said 12 were killed and 39 wounded. One bomb targeted the local offices of the secular political party of former prime minister Iyad Allawi, another one targeted a government building and a third exploded in a commercial street, Qader said. Police and army patrols were also targeted. Kirkuk is a city disputed by Arabs, ethnic Kurds and Turkmen, and violence there is common. Settling its final status is one of the most sensitive issues in Iraq.
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