Bombs kill 20 in Iraq's Kirkuk

KIRKUK, Iraq, Sep 17 (Reuters) A suicide truck bomb and two car bombs killed 20 people and wounded 65 in the ethnically-mixed Iraqi city of Kirkuk today, police and hospital sources said.

In the deadliest blast, a suicide attacker driving a truck rigged with explosives blew himself up outside the offices of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), the political party of Iraq's President Jalal Talabani, police said.

Two car bomb in separate areas also rocked the oil-rich city north of Baghdad, which is disputed by Sunni Arabs and ethnic Kurds.

Settling Kirkuk's final status is regarded as one of post-war Iraq's most sensitive issues. The city has seen considerable sectarian violence.

REUTERS LL PM1340