Toll from Kirkuk blast rises to 267

KIRKUK / IraqiNews.com: The toll from the suicide bombing that took place on Saturday in Taza district of Kirkuk went up to 67 dead and 200 injured, said the director of the province’s health department. “The toll is still rising due to the strength and location of the blast,” Dr. Sabah Ameen told IraqiNews.com news agency. “A medic team from Kirkuk’s health directorate was delegated to help the victims,” he said. “Other medic teams from Arbil and Sulaimaniya provinces also arrived to provide further help,” he added. Earlier, Dr. Ameen said that the final toll from the blast that occurred in front of a Shiite mosque (Husseiniya) in southwestern Kirkuk province has reached 195. Dr. Ameen explained that 35 persons were killed and 160 others were wounded. Also earlier, Tahseen Kahiya , a member of the Kirkuk council, said that the truck bomb that went off in Taza district of the province destroyed around 50 houses, illuminating that until now there is no final toll of casualties as some of the victims are still under debris. He said that a large number of civilians fell in the blast, and that rescue operations to rescue civilians from under the debris are still underway. Kahiya said 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