Two killed, 25 injured in Iraq attacks

Two civilians have been killed and 25 other people injured in three separate attacks in a volatile city in northern Iraq, a police commander said today.

Kirkuk police commander Brigadier General Sarhad Qadir said insurgents attacked the house of a military officer early this morning by planting four bombs around it, killing one member of his family and injuring six others. The officer escaped unharmed.

A few hours later, a bomb in a parked car went off near restaurants, Brig Gen Qadir added, killing one person and wounding 15.

Another parked car bomb targeting a police patrol followed, injuring two policemen and two civilian bystanders.

Kirkuk, 180 miles (290km) north of Baghdad, is home to a combustible mix of Kurds, Sunni Arabs and Turkomen who all claim rights to the city and the oil-rich lands around it.