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| Iraq rocked by deadly blast in Tikrit | Iraq rocked by deadly blast in Tikrit |
| (3 days later) | |
| At least nine people have been killed and 17 wounded after insurgents detonated an oil tanker packed with explosives inside a government compound in the Iraqi city of Tikrit, police said. | At least nine people have been killed and 17 wounded after insurgents detonated an oil tanker packed with explosives inside a government compound in the Iraqi city of Tikrit, police said. |
| No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but Sunni Muslim insurgents linked to al-Qaida have been increasing their efforts this year to undermine Iraq's Shia-led government and foment inter-communal conflict. | No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but Sunni Muslim insurgents linked to al-Qaida have been increasing their efforts this year to undermine Iraq's Shia-led government and foment inter-communal conflict. |
| The attack took place in central Tikrit, 150km (95 miles) north of Baghdad, 15 minutes after insurgents dhad driven the tanker inside a compound housing governmental administrative offices. It killed nine people, including seven police officers. | The attack took place in central Tikrit, 150km (95 miles) north of Baghdad, 15 minutes after insurgents dhad driven the tanker inside a compound housing governmental administrative offices. It killed nine people, including seven police officers. |
| Police at the scene said guards may not have suspected the tanker because fuel trucks arrive every morning to deliver gas and oil. | Police at the scene said guards may not have suspected the tanker because fuel trucks arrive every morning to deliver gas and oil. |
| "The tank was stopped just behind the police administration building and partially damaged it. I was injured in my face and stomach because of glass," Captain Mohammed Salih said. | "The tank was stopped just behind the police administration building and partially damaged it. I was injured in my face and stomach because of glass," Captain Mohammed Salih said. |
| Intensifying violence has accompanied the political crisis in Iraq, where a power-sharing government among Shia, Sunni and ethnic Kurdish blocks has been all but paralysed since US troops left more than a year ago. | Intensifying violence has accompanied the political crisis in Iraq, where a power-sharing government among Shia, Sunni and ethnic Kurdish blocks has been all but paralysed since US troops left more than a year ago. |
| The prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, a Shia, is also facing months of protests in the country's Sunni heartland, which shares a border with Syria. Many Iraqi Sunnis feel their minority sect has been sidelined by Maliki's government. | The prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, a Shia, is also facing months of protests in the country's Sunni heartland, which shares a border with Syria. Many Iraqi Sunnis feel their minority sect has been sidelined by Maliki's government. |
| Security experts say al-Qaida-linked militants have been regrouping in the western province of Anbar and crossing into Syria to fight alongside mainly Sunni rebels against forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Shia Iran. | Security experts say al-Qaida-linked militants have been regrouping in the western province of Anbar and crossing into Syria to fight alongside mainly Sunni rebels against forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Shia Iran. |
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