0
KIRKUK, Iraq, Oct 16: A car exploded near the headquarters of the US-led coalition forces in the northern city of Kirkuk late on Thursday, according to an AFP correspondent at the scene.
There was no word on casualties.
A car with three men inside stopped in front of the coalition headquarters in Al-Wassity neighbourhood, in the south of Kirkuk.
US troops opened fire on the car which sped off before stopping about 200 yards away from the headquarters.
The three men then stepped out of the car and fled before the vehicle exploded seconds later.
The vehicle was in flames when US forces backed by Humvees and armoured vehicles cordoned the area and closed the road.
A second smaller explosion from the car occurred a short time later.
It was not clear if the explosions were caused by explosive charges, hand grenades or ammunition inside the car.
Colonel Khattab Abdel Aref, director of the Kirkuk emergency police forces, told AFP that his men were prevented from approaching the scene by US troops.
“We do not have details about the incident, except that we heard an explosion,” he said.
Earlier on Thursday, the coalition headquarters in Kurkuk was the target of an attack, apparently by at least seven mortar rounds, an AFP correspondent said.
Also in Kirkuk, one US soldier was wounded on Thursday when an explosive charge blew up as he was putting up road blocks near a US army position, witnesses told AFP.
FOUR KILLED: A taxi-driver and his three fellow Jordanian passengers were killed in Baghdad early on Thursday as US troops opened fire after their car failed to stop at a checkpoint, his taxi firm here said.
Driver Ali Imad Abdel Khader was leaving the Iraqi capital headed for Amman when the incident took place, Said Mohammad of the company Abul Ezz told AFP.
“When the car reached the outskirts of Baghdad at around five in the morning it came under fire from American troops at the checkpoint which caused it to spin out of control and crash into an armoured vehicle,” he said.
“The four men were killed on the spot,” said Mohammad, quoting other taxi-drivers who witnessed the incident and were driving in convoy for extra security.
He said the driver “probably did not see the American checkpoint in the dark and didn’t stop”, causing the soldiers to open fire.
In Baghdad, US military officials said they had information on the incident but were investigating.
An Iraqi suicide car bomber was gunned down by security agents on Thursday before he could blow up the interior ministry building in the northern city of Arbil, an official from the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) said.
“An Iraqi in a Toyota carrying more than 100 kilograms of TNT sped towards the interior ministry building around 12:35 pm (0935 GMT) before trying to activate the explosives,” Karim Singari, the KDP’s interior minister, told reporters.
