Young Suicide Bomber Wounds Kirkuk Police Chief

(RFE/RL) 1 November 2005 -- Authorities say a young suicide bomber blew himself up in the northern Iraq oil city of Kirkuk today, seriously wounding the city's police commander.

The attacker's exact age is not clear but news agencies report that he may have been as young as 13. Kirkuk police say the assailant attacked Brigadier Khattab Iris Abdullah by detonating an explosive belt while the officer's car was stuck in traffic.

Abdullah is also a regional leader with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). Reports say a driver and two bodyguards
were also injured in the attack.

(dpa/AFP/AP)