KIRKUK, Kurdistan Region – A suicide bomber detonated his explosives in the center of an arms market in a predominantly Kurdish neighborhood in Kirkuk, killing at least three people, including a child, and wounding dozens, according to preliminary reports.
The bomber detonated an explosives-filled belt at the Rahimawa neighborhood of Kirkuk, which has been under the control of Kurdish forces since the Iraqi army withdrew from large parts of the country in the face of an onslaught by insurgents who have vowed to march on Baghdad.
A Rudaw correspondent in Kirkuk said the explosion took place at 6:15 pm local time. According to preliminary reports, two security forces personnel and a child were killed, and dozens of others wounded.
The explosion was the first since Kurdish forces took control of city’s security on June 11.
Colonel Ghalib Taha, police chief of Rahimawa, told Rudaw that the attacker had been acting suspiciously and had been spotted by people, but he detonated his payload before security forces could open fire.
Security forces arrived in large numbers at the scene, and mosques were appealing for blood donations.
On Tuesday, attackers gunned down 61-year-old Munir Kafili, the chairman of the Kirkuk City Council. Kafili, who was also the executive council member of the Iraqi Turkmen Front, was reportedly shot dead while distributing humanitarian aid from Turkey.
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