At least six people have died and almost 60 have been injured after a series of blasts involving three car bombs and a roadside device accross Iraq, according to officials in the ethnically mixed city of Kirkuk. Kirkuk is based 290km north of Baghdad, in an oil-rich area that is home to a volatile mix of Arabs, Kurds and Turkomen, who are all have competing claims for the disputed region. There have also been explosions in Mosul province and Taji, north of Baghdad. Police confirmed a blast took place near the headquarters of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) led by the of prresident of Iraq’s Kurdistan region, Massoud Barzani. Kurdistan’s intention to incorporate a swathe of territory in northern Iraq over Baghdad’s strong objections is a dispute that diplomats and officials say is the biggest threat to Iraq’s long-term stability. Kurdistan is locked in a dispute with Baghdad over its intention to incorporate a swathe of territory in northern Iraq. Diplomats and officials have warned it is the biggest threat to Iraq’s long-term stability. Ties between the two sides have also been marred by disputes over oil and power-sharing.
