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| Blast at Iraq restaurant kills 47 | Blast at Iraq restaurant kills 47 |
| (20 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 were injured in the explosion at the Kurdish restaurant, some 5km (three miles) north of the city, police told the BBC. | Around 102 people were injured in the explosion at the Kurdish restaurant, some 5km (three miles) north of the city, police told the BBC. |
| The reason for the attack is not yet clear but Kirkuk is home to a mix of Kurds, Arabs and Turkmens. | The reason for the attack is not yet clear but Kirkuk is home to a mix of Kurds, Arabs and Turkmens. |
| The blast came as Muslims celebrated the Eid-al-Adha holiday. | The blast came as Muslims celebrated the Eid-al-Adha holiday. |
| Families were eating lunch in the Abdullah restaurant, located on the main road to Irbil, when it happened. | Families were eating lunch in the Abdullah restaurant, located on the main road to Irbil, when it happened. |
| A suicide bomber activated an explosives belt in the middle of the restaurant, officials and at least one witness say, although one interior ministry official was quoted as saying a car bomb was the cause. | A suicide bomber activated an explosives belt in the middle of the restaurant, officials and at least one witness say, 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 was itself hit by a car bomb last year, with 25 people killed. | A branch of the same restaurant in Kirkuk was itself hit by a car bomb last year, with 25 people killed. |
| Bereaved families | Bereaved families |
| People wounded in Thursday's attack were taken to Kirkuk's main hospital, with 30 of them in a serious condition, an AFP news agency reporter says. | People wounded in Thursday's attack were taken to Kirkuk's main hospital, with 30 of them in a serious condition, an AFP news agency reporter says. |
| I don't know where my children and my father are Rezkar Mahmoud Wounded survivor, 24 | I don't know where my children and my father are Rezkar Mahmoud Wounded survivor, 24 |
| As the authorities appealed for blood donors, the reporter met families bereaved by the blast. | As the authorities appealed for blood donors, the reporter met families bereaved by the blast. |
| Outside the emergency room, a five-year-old boy was crying, saying he had lost both of his parents. | Outside the emergency room, a five-year-old boy was crying, saying he had lost both of his parents. |
| Reskiya Oji, a 49-year-old Turkmen who was wounded in the arm and the leg, said from a hospital bed that her daughter, four, had been killed and she did not know the fate of her two sons. | Reskiya Oji, a 49-year-old Turkmen who was wounded in the arm and the leg, said from a hospital bed that her daughter, four, had been killed and she did not know the fate of her two sons. |
| Rezkar Mahmoud, a 24-year-old Kurd who was wounded in the leg, said he had been having lunch with his father, wife and children. | Rezkar Mahmoud, a 24-year-old Kurd who was wounded in the leg, said he had been having lunch with his father, wife and children. |
| "The restaurant was full when the bomb exploded," he said. "It sent glass flying and destroyed the walls. | "The restaurant was full when the bomb exploded," he said. "It sent glass flying and destroyed the walls. |
| "I don't know where my children and my father are." | "I don't know where my children and my father are." |
| The deputy head of Kirkuk's provincial council, Rebwar Talabani, said the restaurant had been popular with politicians. | |
| "It was packed with people who go there because it's safer [than other restaurants]," he told al-Jazeera TV. | |
| "All kinds of people would go there, even politicians would hold their big meetings there." | |
| Disputed regionChildren were among the casualties | |
| Although violent incidents in Iraq as a whole have dropped sharply this year, the area around the northern cities of Kirkuk and Mosul remains dangerous, the BBC's Humphrey Hawksley reports from Baghdad. | Although violent incidents in Iraq as a whole have dropped sharply this year, the area around the northern cities of Kirkuk and Mosul remains dangerous, the BBC's Humphrey Hawksley reports from Baghdad. |
| Mosul has become a stronghold for al-Qaeda inspired insurgents who have been driven out of many other parts of the country, he says. | Mosul has become a stronghold for al-Qaeda inspired insurgents who have been driven out of many other parts of the country, he says. |
| And tension is so high in Kirkuk that provincial elections planned for most of Iraq next year will not be held in the city, our correspondent adds. | And tension is so high in Kirkuk that provincial elections planned for most of Iraq next year will not be held in the city, our correspondent adds. |
| Control of oil-rich Kirkuk is disputed between Iraqi Arabs, Kurds and ethnic Turkmens. | Control of oil-rich Kirkuk is disputed between Iraqi Arabs, Kurds and ethnic Turkmens. |
| 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. |
| Are you in the area? Have you been affected by this incident, or have you seen or heard anything? Send your comments using the form below. | Are you in the area? Have you been affected by this incident, or have you seen or heard anything? Send your comments using the form below. |
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