Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq

    

Iraqis gather at the site where a suicide truck bomber firing a machine gun blew up his vehicle in Kirkuk, about 250 km (150 miles) north of Baghdad, September 17, 2006. (Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo Gallery >>>

BAGHDAD, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- A total of 16 people were killed and 60 others wounded when two suicide car bombs and one car bomb detonated coordinately in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, local police chief told Xinhua.

    "A suicide car bomber blew up his car near the police investigation center in Kirkuk, killing eleven people, including seven women, and wounding 50 others," said Colonel Burhan, police chief of the city.

    "The second attack was also suicide one when the bomber drove his explosive-laden car into a government building, killing three people and wounding 10 others," Burhan said.

    The third attack caused by a car bomb parking near the building of the main Kurdish party, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan,killing two people and damaging the building, Burhan added.

    Iraqi security forces intensified security measures shortly after the three bombing attacks by sealing off the scenes,searching all the parking cars around the areas and setting up mobile checkpoints, Burhan said.

    Violence rages on in Iraq as car bombings and roadside bombs and assassinations cause dozens of casualties daily. Enditem