Another blast in Iraq (Archive photo)
Photo: AP
At least 19 killed in Iraq blast
Explosion near bank also wounds at least 53 people in northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk
A bomb exploded outside a bank in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk Tuesday, killing at least 19 people, including pensioners and child street vendors selling groceries, police said.
Capt. Salam Zangana, an official at a hospital where the victims were being brought, said another 53 people were wounded.
The roadside bomb exploded at 9 a.m. local time near a queue of people waiting outside the Rafidiyan Bank in downtown Kirkuk, 290 kilometers (180 miles) north of Baghdad, police Col. Shiraz Mohammed said.
The bomb was planted outside the bank, close to which is a walkover bridge crossing the road.
Children hurt
Children and other vendors selling products from sugar to kitchen utensils on both the bridge and the road underneath were among the 18 people killed, Zangana said.
The pavement outside the bank was strewn with rubble and glass from the building, while several bodies were seen lying underneath wreckage. At least two cars parked nearby were set on flames.
Kirkuk is an ethnically mixed city where terrorists have routinely launched deadly attacks apparently seeking to foment ethnic tension.
