Three explosion injured 27 in Kirkuk

KIRKUK, Southern Kurdistan, — Three explosions rocked the Kurdish city of Kirkuk wounding 27 people, report said on Saturday.

Kirkuk security official, General Serhad Qadir, said that three parked cars exploded in 30 minutes in three different locations in the Kurdish areas of the city.

But Qadir said it was not known whether there was a specific target for the blasts.

Kirkuk, revered by the Kurds as the capital of Kurdistan, is 240 kilometres north of Baghdad, is well known for its oil richness.

Due to its oil-rich territory, Kirkuk was implanted by the Arab settlers and the Kurds were expelled by the former despot Saddam Hussein.

A referendum was due by the end of 2007 to decide about the future of the city, as to whether the city belonged to the Southern Kurdistan or should be ruled by Baghdad.

The referendum has yet not been carried out and regularly postponed since it will obviously give the Kurds a rights to rule Kirkuk as part of their own territory.