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Blast at Iraq restaurant kills 36 | |
(20 minutes later) | |
A suspected suicide bomber has killed at least 36 people at a restaurant near the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, police say. | |
Around 70 people have been injured in the explosion at the Kurdish restaurant, some 5km (three miles) north of Kirkuk, police told the BBC. | |
The reason for the attack is not yet clear, but Kirkuk is home to a volatile mix of Kurds, Arabs and Turkomans. | The reason for the attack is not yet clear, but Kirkuk is home to a volatile mix of Kurds, Arabs and Turkomans. |
The blast comes as Muslims celebrate the Eid-al-Adha holiday. | The blast comes as Muslims celebrate the Eid-al-Adha holiday. |
Families were eating lunch in the Abdullah restaurant, located on the main road to Irbil, when the attack happened, police said. | Families were eating lunch in the Abdullah restaurant, located on the main road to Irbil, when the attack happened, police said. |
Iraqi and American security forces are said to have sealed off the area. | Iraqi and American security forces are said to have sealed off the area. |
Disputed region | |
Although violent incidents in Iraq as a whole have dropped sharply this year, bomb attacks still continue regularly in Kirkuk. | Although violent incidents in Iraq as a whole have dropped sharply this year, bomb attacks still continue regularly in Kirkuk. |
Control of the oil-rich city is disputed between Iraqi Arabs, Kurds and ethnic Turkmen. | |
Iraqi Kurds believe they should control the city, which has a Kurdish majority but which lies outside their semi-autonomous northern enclave. | |
But the ethnic Arabs and Turkmen say it should be under the control of the central government. |