Toll from Shiite mosque blast increases to 195

KIRKUK / IraqiNews.com: The final toll from the blast that occurred earlier today in front of a Shiite mosque (Husseiniya) southwestern Kirkuk province has reached 195, according to the director of Kirkuk health director. “Thirty-five persons were killed and 160 others were wounded according to a final count,” Dr. Sabah Ameen told IraqiNews.com news agency. “A number of wounded cases are very serious, and were transferred to hospitals in Arbil and Sulaimaniya cities,” he said. “Those injuries occurred as houses built of clay near the location of the blast were destroyed,” he added. Earlier today, a senior security official said that casualties from the blast that occurred in front of al-Rasoul Mosque in Taza district (30 km south of Kirkuk city) reached 20 dead and 80 wounded persons. The blast occurred while worshipers were leaving the mosque. The attack is the second to hit the province within hours. Also earlier, an improvised explosive device (IED) targeted the convoy of Col. Abdullah Qadir, a police director in Kirkuk, wounding two civilians. Kirkuk, an oil-rich and mixed city of Kurds, Turkmen, Christians, and Arabs, lies 250 km northeast of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. MH (S)/SR 1