By Lauren Mellinger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
KIRKUK, Iraq – On December 11, a suicide bomber killed 50 people and wounded more than 100 in a crowded Kurdish restaurant in the city of Kirkuk.
Iraqi authorities have stated that the bombing was deliberately designed to maximize casualties, coinciding with the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, when many people were celebrating with their families. In addition, a “meeting of understanding” between Kirkuk’s Arab and Kurdish leaders was happening in the restaurant at the time of the attack. Authorities believe this meeting was the primary target of the attack.
Iraqi government officials maintain that this latest bombing is an attempt to provoke extremists in mixed ethnic areas of Iraq as the US plans for withdrawal, challenging the Maliki government’s ability to maintain control over the country without US backing.
According to Joost Hilterman, an expert on Kurdish politics with the International Crisis Group, “The real objective is to sow division between the various communities and inflame passions among the extremists among them – of whom there are plenty in all the communities – and set them up against one another. If it happened in a Kurdish restaurant, where there were Arabs earing, the Kurds will blame the Arabs and the Arabs will blame the Kurds for not protecting them.”
This latest suicide bombing underscores the tensions in the city. Although the insurgent attacks have not targeted Kirkuk as frequently as other large cities, Kirkuk continues to suffer from sectarian divisions between Iraq’s majority Arab population and the minority Kurdish population. Both sides are seeking control of the city, which sits on top of a massive oil reserve.
Oil is at the center of the dispute over control of Kirkuk. While the Arabs and Turkmen minority maintain that the oil should be controlled by the central government, the Iraqi Kurds maintain that having been victims of Saddam Husseins “Arabisation” plan, which brought an influx of Arabs into the city and expelled many Kurds and other minority ethnic groups from the city, Kirkuk should become part of an autonomous Kurdistan.
According to Major General Torhan Abdul-Rahman, the Deputy Police Chief in Kirkuk, the attack is one of the deadliest suicide bombings since the Iraq War began. While no group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, according to Major General Yurhan Yusef, the Kirkuk Police Chief, the attack was likely carried out by a Sunni insurgent group.
Tensions are so high in the city that January’s provincial elections will not be held there, for fear that the elections will spark an increase in violence.
For more information, please see:
Asharq Alawsat – Suicide Bombing Kills 46 in Iraqi Restaurant – 11 December 2008
BBC – Analysis: Kirkuk Faultline – 11 December 2008
BBC – Iraqi Restaurant Blast Kills 50 – 11 December 2008
New York Times – Iraq Bomb Kills 48 in Volatile North – 11 December 2008
