Truck Bomb Kills at Least 19 in Northern Iraq

[Hissyspit]

Source: Associated Press

Truck bomb kills at least 19 in northern Iraq

By SINAN SALAHEDDIN, Associated Press Writer – 9 mins ago
BAGHDAD – A suicide truck bomber hit a residential area of a Kurdish village in northern Iraq before dawn Thursday, killing at least 19 people and injuring 30 others, officials said, in what appeared to be the latest in a string of ethnic attacks in the region.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing, but it bore the hallmarks of al-Qaida in Iraq and other Sunni insurgents who remain active in Mosul and surrounding areas.

A police officer and health official in Mosul said the bomb went off around 12:30 a.m. in the village of Wardek, about 35 miles (55 kilometers) southeast of the city — a region where U.S. commanders have warned that insurgents appear to be trying to stoke an Arab-Kurdish conflict.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information. The blast took down a number of houses and the casualty toll was expected to rise because many people are still missing in the rubble, the officials said.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090910/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq

[sabra]

1. Bomb kills 20, flattens houses in Iraqi Kurdish village

Source: mcclatchy



A suicide truck bomber drove into a Kurdish village in northern Iraq before dawn Thursday, setting off an explosion that killed at least 20 people and wounded 30, local authorities said.

Minutes later, a second bomber attempted to enter the area, but police killed him and disabled the explosives. The attacks occurred in the small Kurdish enclave of Wardak, on the outskirts of the major hub of Mosul, about 225 miles north of Baghdad. The area is known as a hotbed of ethnic unrest, with Arabs and Kurds fighting for control of political and security positions.

The bombing Thursday flattened 15 houses and damaged 40 others, trapping families under the rubble, police said. By late afternoon, authorities said they'd rescued all those pinned down by debris.

Wounded villagers were taken to two nearby hospitals. Kurdish troops sealed off the village and prevented anyone from entering or leaving.


Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/world/AP/story/1226689.html