5 killed in 2 suicide bomb attacks in Iraq's Kirkuk

At least five people were killed and 15 injured on Sunday in two suicide bomb attacks targeting a paramilitary Hashd Shaabi base in the ethnically-mixed city of Kirkuk, a local police source said.

The attacks occurred in the afternoon when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive belt at the entrance of the headquarters of a Hashd Shaabi group, known as Saraya al-Salam, at Atlas Street in central Kirkuk city, some 250 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

A few minutes later, another suicide bomber blew up his explosive belt at the same site, as people and security forces were evacuating the casualties of the first blast, the source said.

The toll could rise as ambulances and civilian cars evacuated the killed and wounded people to several nearby hospitals and medical centres in the city, the source added.

--IANS

ahm/bg