News / Iraq

Six killed, 12 injured in Iraq's twin bomb attacks

Sunday, 05 November 2017 1:35 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 05 November 2017 5:48 PM ]

A military vehicle of Iraqi security forces is seen at the site of a bomb attack in the northern city of Kirkuk, Iraq, November 5, 2017. (Photo by Reuters)

An Iraqi security official says at least six people have lost their lives when twin bomb attacks targeted the country’s oil-rich northern city of Kirkuk.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the attacks had left a dozen others wounded.

The attackers struck near a former police station used by members of the pro-government Saraya al-Salam (Peace Brigades), a group formed by Iraqi Shia cleric, Moqtada al-Sadr, on Atlas Street in central Kirkuk, located 238 kilometers (148 miles) north of the capital Baghdad.

This picture shows the damage following twin bomb attacks at shopping area in Iraq's Kirkuk city on November 5, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

The first attacker blew up an explosives-rigged car, followed by the second, who used an explosive belt, the official added.

Iraqi security forces, backed by fighters from Popular Mobilization Units – commonly known by the Arabic name, Hashd al-Sha’abi, in mid-October seized Kirkuk province from Kurdish Peshmerga forces in the wake of a Kurdish independence vote.

The referendum on the secession of the Kurdistan region was held on September 25 despite strong opposition from Iraqi authorities, the international community, and Iraq's neighboring countries, especially Turkey and Iran.

Following the vote, Baghdad imposed a ban on direct international flights to the Kurdish region and called for a halt to its independent crude oil sales.

There have been no immediate claims of responsibility for Sunday’s deadly attacks yet, but such assaults bear the hallmarks of those carried out by Daesh Takfiri terrorists.

Latest figures released by the United Nations show that acts of terrorism and violence left more than one hundred people dead in Iraq in October as Iraqi forces were trying to expel Daesh terrorists from their last bastions in the country.

Iraqi security forces inspect the site of twin bomb attacks in Kirkuk, Iraq, November 5, 2017. (Photo by Reuters)

According to the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), a total of 114 Iraqi civilians lost their lives and 244 others were injured last month.

The worst-affected area, with the highest number of casualties, was the capital province of Baghdad, where violence took the lives of 39 civilians and left 139 others wounded.

The troubled western province of Anbar saw 36 deaths and 55 injuries. Eighteen people also died and 33 others were wounded in Iraq’s oil-rich northern province of Kirkuk.

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