Kirkuk blast might have targeted Huweija council members – official

KIRKUK / IraqiNews.com: A senior security official in Kirkuk said Thursday’s earlier bombing attack might have targeted members in the Huweija local council who were inside the restaurant when the blast occurred. “The suicide blast inside the Abdallah restaurant, north of Kirkuk, coincided with the presence of members of the al-Huweija local council,” Brig. Sarhad Qader, the Kirkuk Districts’ Police Department chief, told IraqiNews.com. “There’s a possibility that news of the presence of Huweija council members inside the restaurant were leaked to armed groups like al-Qaeda or Ansar al-Islam,” he said, adding the restaurant guards failed conducting a thorough search at the main gate while customers were entering. “This might have been how the suicide bomber sneaked into the restaurant,” Qader said. He noted that security forces in Kirkuk were in control of the situation after the security plan laid for the Eidul-Adha holiday was carried out, but the blast occurred outside the city. “The restaurant guards were not security personnel but private guards working for the facility owner,” he said. The blast had left 47 people killed and 100 others injured as the city of Kirkuk was witnessing tight security measures in preparation for Iraqi President Jalal Talabani’s visit. Kirkuk lies 250 km northeast of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. AmR (S) 1