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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Iraq violence: 'Dozens dead' in Kirkuk police HQ attack | Iraq violence: 'Dozens dead' in Kirkuk police HQ attack |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| At least 30 people have been killed as a suicide bomber and gunmen attacked a police headquarters in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, police say. | At least 30 people have been killed as a suicide bomber and gunmen attacked a police headquarters in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, police say. |
| A city official told AFP news agency that militants had tried to seize the compound but were unsuccessful. | A city official told AFP news agency that militants had tried to seize the compound but were unsuccessful. |
| No group has said it carried out the attack. | No group has said it carried out the attack. |
| Kirkuk is ethnically mixed, and at the centre of a dispute between the Iraqi government and Kurds over oil and land rights. | Kirkuk is ethnically mixed, and at the centre of a dispute between the Iraqi government and Kurds over oil and land rights. |
| Two weeks ago at least 10 people were killed in a suicide bomb attack on the offices of the Kurdish Democratic Party in the city. | Two weeks ago at least 10 people were killed in a suicide bomb attack on the offices of the Kurdish Democratic Party in the city. |
| Sunni insurgents linked to al-Qaeda have been blamed for much of the recent violence in Iraq. | Sunni insurgents linked to al-Qaeda have been blamed for much of the recent violence in Iraq. |
| However, there has been a relative calm in recent days. | However, there has been a relative calm in recent days. |
| The attack took place during morning rush hour in the centre of Kirkuk, police Brig-Gen Natah Mohammed Sabr told AFP. | The attack took place during morning rush hour in the centre of Kirkuk, police Brig-Gen Natah Mohammed Sabr told AFP. |
| At least 70 people were injured as militants reportedly dressed in police uniforms and armed with guns, grenades and suicide vests rushed the main gate of the headquarters after a bomb was detonated. | |
| They threw grenades but were killed before they reached the building of the headquarters. | |
| The attack caused massive damage to nearby buildings, Brig-Gen Sabr added. | The attack caused massive damage to nearby buildings, Brig-Gen Sabr added. |
| Traffic in the city centre was stopped, and offices in the area were evacuated. | |
| With its massive oil reserves, Kirkuk is the most bitterly contested of Iraq's disputed territories. | |
| It houses a mixture of Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen. | |
| The Kurds want to incorporate it into their largely autonomous region, while Arabs and Turkmen oppose any change to its current status, ruled directly from Baghdad. | |
| Correspondents say militants often exploit differences between the Iraqi and Kurdish security forces by launching deadly attacks in the city. |