2 killed in suicide car bombing in Iraq

Baghdad, Sep 17 (IANS) At least two people were killed and eight others wounded in a suicide car bombing in the city of Kirkuk, a local police source said.

The attack took place on Saturday evening when a suicide bomber detonated his car, loaded with explosives, after hitting a nearby vehicle in the city of Kirkuk, some 250 km north of the Iraqi capital of here, Xinhua news agency reported.

The toll could rise as ambulances, police and civilian vehicles were evacuating the victims to the city's main hospital and medical centres, the source said.

Tensions run high in the past few weeks as the ethnically mixed city of Kirkuk was expected to witness a controversial referendum as the city is part of the disputed areas that the Kurds want to incorporate into their semi-autonomous region, a move fiercely opposed by the Arabs and Turkomans and by Baghdad government.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Islamic State (IS) militant group, in most previous cases, has carried out such suicide attacks targeting security forces and crowded areas, including markets, cafes and mosques across Iraq.