IED blast, mortar attack in Kirkuk

KIRKUK / IraqiNews.com: An improvised explosive device (IED) went off in eastern Kirkuk on Friday while a mortar shell dropped on al-Ihtifalat square southwest of the city, a senior security official said. “An IED emplaced under the vehicle of a local resident went off in Shoqaq al-Ghaz, eastern Kirkuk, but left no casualties,” Brig. Sarhad Qader, the chief of the Kirkuk Districts’ Police Department, told IraqiNews.com. “In al-Ihtifalat square, southwest of Kirkuk, a mortar shell was fired but left no casualties either,” Qader said. He did not give more details. The oil-rich city of Kirkuk lies 250 km north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. AmR (P) 1