At Least 57 Killed in Kirkuk Bombing

Worst Attack in Six Months Coincides With Planned Talabani Visit

by Jason Ditz, December 11, 2008

Updated 12/11/08 11:15 PM EST

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani arrived in the northern city of Kirkuk this afternoon, just hours after a suicide attack on a crowded restaurant killed scores of people. The president was to meet with security officials in the city regarding the continued tensions between its Arab and Kurdish residents.

At least 57 were reported killed and 120 were wounded in the attack, the worst in many months in the wartorn nation. It was unclear who was responsible for the attack, but witnesses seem to believe it may have been al-Qaeda.

The restaurant was particularly crowded for the final day of Eid al-Adha, but the target was likely a local al-Huweija council, who was at the restaurant meeting with members of President Talabani’s Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party. There were no security personnel at the restaurant at the time of the attack, only a handful of guards employed by the restaurant.

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