Iraq: Double car bombing kills 6 in Kirkuk

Kirkuk, Iraq, Feb 17: A double car bombing killed at least six people and wounded 32 in a crowded market in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk today, police sources said.

The explosions occurred in Kirkuk's Rahim Awa district, a predominantly Kurdish area of the ethnically mixed city. Several cars and shops were burnt out.

Police said the death toll could rise.

Iraqi officials fear violence may increase outside the capital Baghdad as US and Iraqi forces step up a crackdown on insurgents and militias in the city of six million.

Some officials say militants are avoiding confrontation in Baghdad or may have left the city.

Reuters