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Truck bomb kills 30 in north Iraq Bombings leave many dead in Iraq
(about 2 hours later)
At least 30 people have been killed and another 50 wounded by a suicide truck bombing in the northern Iraqi town of Makhmur, Iraqi police say. At least 34 people have been killed and dozens wounded by two separate bombings in Iraq, police say.
The bomb exploded near government buildings and the local office of a leading Kurdish party, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). Thirty people were killed and 50 wounded by a suicide truck bombing near the office of a leading Kurdish party in the northern Iraqi town of Makhmur.
The local police chief said many bodies were buried under rubble and that he expected the death toll to rise. Later, at least four people died and 10 were wounded when a car bomb exploded near a market in the mainly Shia Sadriyah district of central Baghdad.
Last week, 14 people were killed by a truck bomb in the nearby city of Irbil. Some 140 people were killed by a car bombing in the same area last month.
The near-daily bombings and instability that have gripped much of Iraq remain rare in the country's north. That attack was the bloodiest since a recent US security operation began in the capital.
However, political tensions are rising over the drafting of a bill that will redistribute oil wealth among the country's Kurdish, Sunni and Shia population. Kurds targeted
Sunday's attack on the town of Makhmur in Irbil Province targeted the local office of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), which was holding a meeting at the time.
The KDP is led by the president of the Kurdish autonomous region, Massoud Barzani.
Local government buildings were also damaged by what witness said was a very large explosion, and a senior police officer was among the dead.
The town's mayor, prominent Kurdish writer Abd al-Rahman Delaf, was one of the many wounded taken for medical treatment to the nearby provincial capital of Irbil, about 50km north-east of Makhmur.
The town's police chief said many bodies were buried under rubble and that he expected the death toll to rise.
Last week, 14 people were killed by a truck bomb in Irbil.
Political tensions have been rising in the predominantly Kurdish region over the drafting of a bill that will redistribute oil wealth among the country's Kurdish, Sunni and Shia population.
Most of Iraq's oil is concentrated around the Kurdish north and Shia south.Most of Iraq's oil is concentrated around the Kurdish north and Shia south.
Police were not sure what was the target of Sunday's bombing, but among the dead was a senior police officer. Search for troops
The town's mayor, prominent Kurdish writer Abd al-Rahman Delaf, was also wounded by the blast. Meanwhile, US forces have stepped up efforts to find three US soldiers who are missing after their patrol was attacked south of Baghdad on Saturday.
The KDP, which was holding a meeting in its office when the bomb exploded, is led by the president of the Kurdish autonomous region, Massoud Barzani. A spokesman, Maj Gen William Caldwell, confirmed on Sunday that an Iraqi interpreter was among the five members of the patrol who were killed in the attack in Mahmudiya. The other dead members were Americans.
Gen Caldwell said more than 4,000 US troops, as well as Iraqi units and aerial surveillance aircraft, were now involved in the search.
The US commander also announced that an additional 3,000 soldiers were being deployed in Diyala Province to deal with rising violence.
Last week, the US commander in the north, Maj-Gen Benjamin Mixon, said the Iraqi government's support for its own forces and provincial authorities was at times ineffective.
"There is recognition clearly that up in Diyala there has been an uptick in the violence," Gen Caldwell said.