Kirkuk car bomb kills eight

A suicide car bomber exploded at a checkpoint after guards opened fire as he approached a police station in Kirkuk today, killing eight people and wounding dozens, 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.