Scores dead and injured in Kirkuk bombings

July 16, 2007: Kirkuk, in oil-rich northern Iraq, is the home and political base of the country's Kurdish President, Jalal Talabani. Around mid-day, a truck bomb eluded security and exploded outside the headquarters of Talabani's party, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). Kurds consider Kirkuk part of their historic homeland and want a referendum to integrate the city into their autonomous region. But there are also tensions involving ethnic Turks, as well as Sunnis, who form the majority population, many of them relocated there by Saddam Hussein in the 1970s as part of a plan to 'Arabize' the north and control oil production. Agence France Presse quotes U.S. soldiers as saying Kirkuk had reached 'an acceptable level of violence.' But that was not the case as more than 80 people died and almost 200 were injured. No one has claimed responsibility for the latest attacks. APTN cameras captured the carnage in the city. The pictures are graphic.

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