Iraq: Suicide car bomb kills three police officers

A suicide car bomb exploded at a checkpoint leading to a police station in Kirkuk today, killing three Iraqi policemen and wounding 30 people, police said.

The blast, which occurred in the centre of the oil-rich city, 180 miles north of Baghdad, was the latest in an increase in violence in northern Iraq even as the government and US forces prepare to launch a massive security operation aimed at stopping sectarian attacks in Baghdad.