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| Version 4 | Version 5 |
|---|---|
| Blast at Iraq restaurant kills 47 | Blast at Iraq restaurant kills 47 |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| A suspected suicide bomber has killed at least 47 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 102 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. |
| 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. | 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. | 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. | A branch of the same restaurant in Kirkuk itself was hit by a car bomb last year, with 25 people killed. |
| Disputed region | Disputed region |
| 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. | 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. |
| Mosul has become a stronghold for al-Qaeda inspired insurgents who have been routed from many other parts of the country, he says. | 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. | 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. | 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. |
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