Triple car bombs kill 8 in north Iraq

10 February, 2011 12:45

At least eight people have been killed and 68 others injured as three car bombs went off in quick succession in Iraq’s northern oil-rich city of Kirkuk.

The bombings took place at around 10:25 a.m. local time (0725 GMT) on Wednesday in the west of the city, a senior Iraqi security official told Â AFP on condition of anonymity.

The triple attack targeted a security building. The shock wave released by the blasts also inflicted damage on surrounding facilities and nearby buildings.

According to reports, the offices of a Turkman political party suffered damages in the explosions.

Police cordoned off the area after the incidents and launched an investigation.

The attacks are the latest in a new spate of deadly bombings that have claimed dozens of lives across war-torn Iraq over the past week.

At least 48 people, including eleven children, were killed and 65 wounded on January 27 when a car bomb targeted a funeral ceremony in Baghdad’s predominantly Shia district of Shula.

Recent terrorist attacks in Iraq have mainly targeted the majority Shia community and security forces.

Sporadic high-profile bomb explosions have raised concerns about an uptick in violence in war-wrecked Iraq. They also pose a major challenge to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whose coalition government took office in December 2010.