Police chief killed in blast in northern Iraq

Police chief killed in blast in northern Iraq

2011-05-25 23:31:08 GMT+7 (ICT)

KIRKUK, IRAQ (BNO NEWS) -- A police chief on Wednesday was killed in an explosion on a road near the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, northern Iraq, the Aswat al-Iraq news agency reported.

Hussein Ni’ama Hawas, the police chief of west Kirkuk’s Dibbis township, was heading towards work when a roadside bomb exploded, killing him and injuring two of his bodyguards.

The blast took place near the al-Nida'a Bridge in Kirkuk on Wednesday morning. Security forces were rushed to the site and cordoned off the area. The attack took place approximately 45 kilometers (27.96 miles) west of Kirkuk.

Also this day, a police officer was killed and another injured in two explosions in Anbar Province, central Iraq. The two explosive charges were detonated within minutes in Ramadi city.

The first bomb was set off in central Ramadi while a police officer was riding a bicycle. Moments later, another explosion targeted a police patrol in a nearby street but only one policeman was injured.

Kirkuk has been witnessing an escalation in violence since the clashes between the Iraqi army and Kurdish security forces which resulted in the death of two soldiers in April.

The oil-rich city is located about 280 kilometers (174 miles) to the northeast of Baghdad. Kurds claim control of the city as it was originally a Kurdish city. Currently, the city is home to a mixture of Arabs, Armenians, Assyrians, Kurds, Shabaks, and Turkmens.

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