Dozens killed in series of attacks in Iraq

USPA News - Dozens of people were killed in Iraq in a violent wave of bombings on Wednesday, local media reported. A suicide attack and other bombings in the cities of Kirkuk and Tuz Khurmato in northern Iraq and the capital, Baghdad, have killed over 30 people with scores of others being injured, according to media reports.

The death toll has varied, but the deadliest attack on Wednesday occurred in Kirkuk, located 236 kilometers (147 miles) north of Baghdad, when a suicide bomber targeted the Kurdistan Democratic Party. At least 27 people were reported killed, while over 100 were also injured. Iraq`s health department had previously stated that up to eighteen people had been killed in the Kirkuk attack with approximately 200 people injured, according to the National Iraqi News Agency. In Tuz Khurmato, around 90 kilometers (56 miles) south of Kirkuk, a car bomb near the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan offices killed at least three people with a number of others also being wounded. Violence was also reported in Baghdad, including the killings of police officers by unidentified gunmen in Shiite areas of the city. The United Nations (UN) strongly condemned the attacks which have targeted individuals in crowded areas. killing dozens. "I am particularly alarmed that attacks in disputed internal areas further aggravate the tensions there," said the Secretary-General?s Special Representative and head of the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), Martin Kobler. The Special Representative urged all Iraqi leaders to live up to their responsibilities and to work without delay on defusing the situation and engaging in peaceful dialogue.