Bomb attack in Iraqi city of Kirkuk kills 31
- 11 years ago
The bloody aftermath of a bomb blast in the ethnically mixed Iraqi city of Kirkuk.
The attack killed at least 31 people on Friday, according to police and medics.
The blast tore through a cafe where people had gathered after breaking their fast for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
(SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) EYEWITNESS, MAHMOUD HASHIM, SAYING:
"We were just sitting in the cafe when a man wearing an explosive belt walked past and all of a sudden blew himself up. There is no government."
The violence is part of a campaign of militant attacks since the start of the year, prompting warnings of wider conflict in a country where ethnic Kurds and Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims have yet to find a stable power-sharing compromise.
No one has claimed immediate responsibility for the attack, but insurgents have been regaining strength in recent months.
The attack killed at least 31 people on Friday, according to police and medics.
The blast tore through a cafe where people had gathered after breaking their fast for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
(SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) EYEWITNESS, MAHMOUD HASHIM, SAYING:
"We were just sitting in the cafe when a man wearing an explosive belt walked past and all of a sudden blew himself up. There is no government."
The violence is part of a campaign of militant attacks since the start of the year, prompting warnings of wider conflict in a country where ethnic Kurds and Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims have yet to find a stable power-sharing compromise.
No one has claimed immediate responsibility for the attack, but insurgents have been regaining strength in recent months.