A spike in violence in Iraq continued Thursday with a double bombing in Kirkuk. The blasts killed at least 27 police officers and wounded another 70 in the oil-drilling center. Both bombs were in cars; a first blast injured some officers and drew a crowd, setting up a second bomb that injured many more and caused fatalities. As a boundary town between Kurdish, Arab, and Turkmen populations, Kirkuk is often the site of tension and violence, but this is the latest in a string of incidents, including a blast that killed 16 officers in Hillah and attempts at jailbreaks elsewhere. No one has claimed responsibility, but the chief of police in Kirkuk suggested al Qaeda was to blame.
Read it at Los Angeles Times
