KIRKUK, Iraq (Reuters) - At least five people were killed and 18 injured in a series of explosions in the Iraqi oil city of Kirkuk, medical sources in the city’s general hospital told Reuters on Thursday.

At least six improvised explosive devices went off in the northern city and two more were defused by security forces, the Iraqi military said in a statement. It gave a lower death toll of three and said 16 were injured. </s> Iraqi security officials say 6 explosions have gone off in the northern city of Kirkuk, killing at least 3 people. </s> KIRKUK, Iraq (Reuters) - At least five people were killed and 18 injured in a series of explosions in the Iraqi oil city of Kirkuk, medical sources in the city’s general hospital told Reuters on Thursday.

At least six improvised explosive devices went off in the northern city and two more were defused by security forces, the Iraqi military said in a statement. It gave a lower death toll of three and said 16 were injured.

The explosion sites included two malls, an ice cream shop and a butcher’s shop, local media reported.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Islamic State militants are active in the area. Iraq declared victory over the group, which once held large swathes of the country, in December 2017.

But Islamic State has switched to hit-and-run attacks aimed at undermining the Baghdad government.

Its fighters have regrouped in the Hamrin mountain range in the northeast, which extends from Diyala province, on the border with Iran, crossing northern Salahuddin province and southern Kirkuk. </s> Iraqi city of Kirkuk rocked by 6 blasts; at least 4 killed

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi security officials say a series of explosions in the northern city of Kirkuk has killed at least four people and wounded 23.

The officials said the six blasts went off in quick succession Thursday night after iftar, the meal that breaks daylong fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. They struck center of the city when streets are typically crowded.

The nature of the blasts was not immediately clear, but the officials said they appeared to be improvised explosive devices. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Iraq declared victory against the Islamic State group in 2017, but the group continues to carry out attacks through sleeper cells, particularly in the country's north. </s> Iraqi city of Kirkuk rocked by 6 blasts; at least 4 killed

BAGHDAD (AP) — A series of explosions shook the center of the northern city of Kirkuk Thursday, killing at least four people and wounding 23, Iraqi security officials said.

The six blasts went off in quick succession after iftar, the meal that breaks daylong fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when streets are typically crowded with shoppers and people out having dinner. They struck in the center of the city in a commercial area that has several malls, cafes and restaurants, sending people fleeing in panic.

The nature of the blasts was not immediately clear, but the officials said they appeared to be improvised explosive devices. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Iraq declared victory against the Islamic State group in 2017, but the group continues to carry out attacks through sleeper cells, particularly in the country's north.

There was no immediate responsibility claim, but the head of Kirkuk security operations Saad Harbya, speaking on the Kurdish Rudaw TV, blamed IS. The group has claimed several attacks recently around the city, some of them targeting security forces.

Kirkuk is an oil city disputed by Irbil-based Kurdish regional government and Baghdad. </s> (Hatha al-Youm | Iraq News )- TEHRAN (FNA)- Several people have been killed and more than a dozen others wounded in a series of blasts that struck the city of Kirkuk, the Iraqi military announced.At least six improvised explosive devices went off on Thursday in the Northern city and two more were defused by security forces, the military said in a statement, Al-Jazeera reported.It gave a death toll of three people, while 16 others were wounded.Unidentified security officials told The Associated Press news agency that the blasts killed at least four people and wounded 23, while medical sources in Kirkuk's general hospital told Reuters news agency that at least five people were killed and 18 wounded.There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Saad Harbya, the head of Kirkuk security operations, blamed the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) armed group.The explosions reportedly struck in the centre of Kirkuk, in a commercial area that has several shopping centres, cafes and restaurants, sending people fleeing in panic.The blasts went off in quick succession after iftar, the meal that breaks daylong fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when streets are typically crowded with shoppers and people out having dinner.Police blocked off all roads leading to the blast sites and were allowing only ambulances to transfer the wounded to nearby hospitals.Iraq declared victory over the Islamic State, which once held large swaths of the country, in December 2017.But militants have switched to hit-and-run attacks aimed at undermining the central government in Iraq's capital, Baghdad.Its fighters have regrouped in the Hamrin mountain range in the Northeast, which extends from Diyala province, on the border with Iran, crossing Northern Salahuddin province and Southern Kirkuk. </s> Kirkuk (Iraqinews.com) – Ten Iraqi people were killed and injured Sunday in a car bomb blast in oil-rich Kirkuk province, a security source was quoted as saying.

Speaking to Alghad Press, the source said, “A booby-trapped vehicle went off in al-Khadraa district in central Kirkuk, leaving a civilian dead and nine others injured.”

“The injured civilians were moved to a nearby hospital for treatment, while the dead body was carried to the forensic medicine department,” the source pointed out.

Earlier in the day, an Iraqi civilian was wounded as a locally-made bomb went off near a market in Hor Rajab area in southern Baghdad.

According to the latest casualty figures recorded by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), a total of 104 Iraqi civilians and policemen were killed and another 177 injured in acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict in Iraq in March.

In its monthly statement released earlier this month, the UN agency said the number of civilians killed, excluding police, was 84, while 164 others were injured.

Baghdad was the worst affected Governorate, with 124 civilian casualties (33 killed, 91 injured), followed by Salahuddin with 12 killed and 26 injured, and Anbar with 11 killed and 22 injured.

Though most of the daily bombings go without a claim of responsibility, Islamic State is expected to be behind many. </s> Baghdad: A series of explosions shook the centre of the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Thursday, killing at least four people and wounding 23.

The six blasts went off in quick succession after iftar, the meal that breaks day-long fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when streets are typically crowded with shoppers and people out having dinner.

They struck in the centre of Kirkuk in a commercial area that has several malls, cafes and restaurants, sending people fleeing in panic.

The nature of the blasts was not immediately clear, but security officials said they appeared to be improvised explosive devices. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. </s> (Hatha al-Youm | Iraq News )- ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – An explosion rocked a Shia Muslim mosque in Baghdad on Friday, resulting in at least 20 casualties and conflicting reports on the nature of the device used in the attack.The blast occurred inside the Imam Mahdi mosque in the predominantly Shia neighborhood of al-Baladiyat in the eastern suburbs of Baghdad, a security source told Kurdistan 24. Worshippers had just finished their Friday prayers and were about to leave the site when the bomb detonated.Bombings that target religious buildings, once common in the bloody sectarian conflict in the years that followed the 2003 toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime, are now rare in Iraq.The exact number of deaths was not immediately clear, but a witness told Kurdistan 24 that the explosion was "violent," and that at least 20 people were lying on the ground, covered with blood.Local media Alsumaria reported that the attack was carried out by a “suicide bomber” that had killed at least seven people and injured 20 others in the attack. According to other outlets, however, the bomber had used an improvised explosive device (IED).No group has yet claimed responsibility.In previous decades, the building was known as the Mosque of Abdul Rahman al-Kubaisi. After the fall of the former government in 2003, Shia groups took it over and turned it into an establishment exclusive to their sect of Islam, renaming it the Imam Mahdi al-Muntadhar Mosque.On Thursday, at least four people were wounded when a suicide bomber tried to detonate his vest at a cafeteria in Khanaqin, about 175 kilometers (108 miles) north of Baghdad.“The attacker, a young man, attempted to blow himself up at the cafeteria, but he failed,” a source told Kurdistan 24.Editing by John J. Catherine
Six explosive devices detonated in several locations in Kirkuk, Iraq kill 5 people and injure 20 others.