Bloody explosions in Karkouk, Baqouba, bodies found for truck drivers

The Iraqi security forces in Karkouk, in the north of the country, took tough security measures following the bloody attack carried out by one suicide bomber in a crowded market in the center of the city on Tuesday morning. It resulted in killing 19 persons and injuring 53, most of them civilians.

Commander of Karkouk police Lt. Gen. Tourhan Youssef said that the inspection points in the entrances and exits of the city have been set in precaution of new likely attacks, describing Tuesday's attack as the most violent in the city since the collapse of the former regime more than two years ago.

The explosion took place when one person wearing an explosive belt detonated himself near a bank when a queue of retired men were waiting to get their salaries. Police sources indicated that the headquarters of the police leadership in Karkouk is only 400 meters from the site of the explosion.

The attack of the oil rich Karkouk came hours after a suicide attack by a truck at an Iraqi inspection point near the city. This resulted in wounding five persons including two soldiers.