Iraqi officials: Suicide car bomb targeting police kills at least 15 in disputed northern city

BAGHDAD - Officials say a suicide car bomb targeting a provincial police headquarters has killed at least 15 people in a disputed northern Iraqi city.

A police officer says at least one attacker drove his car into the headquarters building in Kirkuk on Sunday morning. He said another 70 people were wounded.

The officer spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to release information. The head of the provincial health directorate, Sidiq Omar Rasool, confirmed the casualty figures.

Kirkuk, 290 kilometres north of Baghdad, is home to a mix of Arabs, Kurds and Turkomen, who all have competing claims to the oil-rich area.

The Kurds want to incorporate it into their self-ruled region in Iraq's north, but Arabs and Turkomen are opposed.