Kirkuk blast destroyed 50 houses – local official

KIRKUK / IraqiNews.com: The truck bomb that went off in Taza district of Kirkuk destroyed around 50 houses, said a member of the province’s council, explaining that until now there is no final toll of casualties as some of the victims are still under debris. “A large number of civilians fell in the blast,” Tahseen Kahiya told IraqiNews.com news agency. “Rescue operations to rescue civilians from under the debris are still underway,” he said. Earlier, the director of Kirkuk health director said that the final toll from the blast that occurred in front of a Shiite mosque (Husseiniya) southwestern Kirkuk province has reached 195. The medic explained that 35 persons were killed and 160 others were wounded according to the current final count. Kahiya illuminated that the mosque’s imam, Sheikh Hassan, “saw the big truck driven by the bomber, but he did not feel anything after that until he found himself in the hospital.” This attack is considered the biggest so far in Kirkuk in 2009. The oil-rich city of Kirkuk lies 250 km northeast of Baghdad. MH (S)/SR  1