KIRKUK, July 11 (Xinhua) -- At least 19 people were killed and 28 wounded in twin bomb explosions in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Friday, a police source said.
A suicide car bomber blew himself at a checkpoint in Wahid Huzairan area of southern Kirkuk, killing 18 people, including six members of the Kurdish security forces and 12 displaced civilians from Tikrit and other militant-controlled cities. The blast also injured 25 others, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
In a separate incident, a suicide car bomber attacked a checkpoint in the area of Khaled, 25 km southwest of Kirkuk, killing one member of the Kurdish security forces and wounding three others.
Iraq is witnessing some of its worst violence in recent years. According to the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq, a total of 8,868 Iraqis, including 7,818 civilians and civilian police personnel, were killed in 2013, the highest annual death toll in years.
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