SULAIMANIYAH, Kurdistan-Iraq (Reuters) - A car
bomb exploded on Tuesday in the Iraqi Kurdish city
of Sulaimaniya and a hospital official said at least
nine people had been killed.
Police and witnesses said the blast was caused by a
car bomb which exploded near a building housing
regional officials who deal with Kurdish militia
forces, known as the Peshmerga.
Sulaimaniyah, in the northern mountains, has been
among the most tranquil spots in Iraq, rarely
troubled by the violence that has racked the country
in the past two years, and has been the focus of
considerable business investment. |
Sulaimaniyah city, the most secure Kurdistan city
Photo: Sherko
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The blast came on a day when the final result of
Iraq's constitutional referendum are expected to be
announced.
All the indications are that the constitution, which
enshrines Kurdistan's broad autonomy, will be
passed. Sunni Arab insurgents fighting the Shi'ite-
and Kurdish-led government in Baghdad opposed the
charter.
Kurds have also been attacked by Sunni Arab
supporters of ousted President Saddam Hussein, who
went on trial in Baghdad last week. Among the
accusations he faces are genocide against Kurds and
the gassing of Kurdish civilians in 1988 at Halabja,
80 km (50 miles) from Sulaimaniyah.
Sulaimaniyah is the base of the Patriotic Union of
Kurdistan (PUK), headed by Iraqi President Jalal
Talabani. The PUK is one of the two main Kurdish
parties that dominate the region.
Reuters
SULAIMANIYAH, (AP) Iraq - A suicide car bomb
exploded near a regional government ministry in a
predominantly Kurdish province of Sulaimaniyah on
Tuesday, killing at least nine people and wounding
four, a security official said.
The blast occurred on the outskirts of Sulaimaniyah,
right outside the ministry, that houses Kurdish
forces known as peshmerga. The explosion killed six
peshmerga and three civilians and wounded two
peshmerga and two civilians, said Lt. Col. Taha
Redha, a peshmerga official.
It was one of two suicide attacks by insurgents on
Tuesday in the generally peaceful province 160 miles
northeast of Baghdad.
About 45 minutes earlier, a suicide car bomber
rammed his vehicle into a seven-car convoy carrying
Mullah Bakhtiyar, a senior Kurdish official in
President Jalal Talabani's Patriotic Union of
Kurdistan party, said police Col. Najim Al-Din Qader.
The blast in Sulaimaniya city wounded two of the
convoy's guards and damaged two of its cars, Qader
said.
Sulaimaniyah _ the city and province share the same
name _ is where the PUK party is based, and it is
considered one of the most peaceful areas of Iraq.
(AP)
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