This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/7777342.stm

The article has changed 13 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 3 Version 4
Blast at Iraq restaurant kills 36 Blast at Iraq restaurant kills 47
(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. A suspected suicide bomber has killed at least 47 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. Around 102 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. Officials and at least one witness said a suicide bomber activated a booby-trapped belt in the middle of the restaurant, although one interior ministry official was quoted as saying a car bomb was the cause.
There were also unconfirmed reports that Kurdish officials were also in the restaurant having lunch with Arab tribal leaders at the time.
A branch of the same restaurant in Kirkuk itself was hit by a car bomb last year, with 25 people killed.
Disputed regionDisputed 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, the area around the northern cities of Kirkuk and Mosul remain dangerous, the BBC's Humphrey Hawksley in Baghdad says.
Control of the oil-rich city is disputed between Iraqi Arabs, Kurds and ethnic Turkmen. Mosul has become a stronghold for al-Qaeda inspired insurgents who have been routed from many other parts of the country, he says.
And tension is so high in Kirkuk that provincial elections slated for most of Iraq next year will not be held in the city, he adds.
Control of oil-rich Kirkuk 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.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.But the ethnic Arabs and Turkmen say it should be under the control of the central government.