Truck bombing kills 12 in Baghdad

A truck bomb exploded during rush hour today on a busy commercial street in northern Baghdad, killing at least 12 people and wounding about two dozen, Iraqi police and health officials said.

The attack came as Kurdish leaders held intense negotiations with government officials aimed at defusing a crisis over Kurdish demands to incorporate the disputed city of Kirkuk and surrounding areas into their autonomous region, government officials said. The talks, attended by US and UN officials, were still under way and forced the postponement of a special parliamentary session over the dispute on Sunday, the officials said.