288 killed, 740 injured in violent acts in Kirkuk in 2008

KIRKUK / IraqiNews.com: A total of 288 persons were killed and 740 others were wounded in acts of violence that took place in Kirkuk in 2008, senior local police officer said on Wednesday. “22 policemen, 44 soldiers, 134 civilians and 12 Sahwa fighters were killed in 2008, in addition to finding 76 unknown bodies throughout Kirkuk,” Brig. Sarhad Qadir told IraqiNews.com. “146 policemen, 12 Iraqi soldiers, 540 civilians and 42 Sahwa fighters were wounded in 2008,” he added. “The Kirkuk witnessed eight suicide bombings, 14 car bomb explosions and 303 bomb blasts during 2009,” he also said. “41 people were kidnapped and 543 bombs and four car bombs were defused and 953 wanted and suspected gunmen were arrested,” Qadir noted. Kirkuk, 250 km (156 miles) north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, sits on the ruins of a 5,000-year-old settlement. Because of the strategic geographical location of the city, Kirkuk was the battle ground for three empires, Assyria, Babylonia and Media which controlled the city at various times. Kirkuk is the centre of the northern Iraqi petroleum industry. It is a historically and ethnically mixed city populated by Assyrians, Kurds, Arabs and Iraqi Turkmen. The population was estimated at 1,200,000 in 2008. SH (S) 1