Bombings in Iraq leave dozens dead

BAGHDAD – Bombings in Baghdad and the northern city of Kirkuk killed at least 42 people in Iraq on Saturday as the government investigated a deadly attack on a Sunni mosque the day before that has heightened sectarian tensions amid a fragile political transition.

In oil-rich Kirkuk, long disputed by Baghdad and the Kurdish regional government, three bombs went off in a crowded commercial district, killing 31 people and wounding dozens, Kirkuk deputy police chief Tarhan Abdel-Rahman said.

One witness said he heard “an explosion between the cars, and then we started carrying out the dead bodies from there while people were burning inside the shops and cars.” The witness asked not to be named for fear of retribution.

In Baghdad, a suicide bomber had earlier driven an explosives-laden car into the gate of the intelligence headquarters in Karrada district, killing six civilians and five security personnel and wounding 24 others, a police officer said.

A medical official confirmed casualty figures. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity.