JNN 19 May 2011 Kirkuk Iraq : Dozens of Iraqis have been killed and wounded in multiple explosions in Iraq’s northern city of Kirkuk, local police sources say.

At least 18 people have been killed and 70 others injured after two bombs went off coordinately in Kirkuk on Thursday, AFP reported.

Scores were wounded in the double blasts in Kirkuk, and a third explosion 45 minutes later on a road to a city hospital brought the number of injured to at least 60, said provincial health director Siddiq Oman.

Kirkuk police Capt. Abdul Salam Zangana said the first explosion, in a central Kirkuk parking lot at about 9 a.m., sent policemen rushing outside their secure headquarters compound to investigate. That’s when the second blast hit, Zangana said.

The double blasts killed 22 people, most of them policemen, and wounded more than 52, he said. It also heavily damaged the police headquarters, where rescue workers frantically combed through the rubble to find victims.

The third bomb set cars and trucks ablaze when it exploded about 550 yards (500 meters) away, targeting a police patrol near a mosque, said Zangana, who oversees security units at the hospital where the dead and wounded were brought. Zangana said eight people were wounded in that blast.

Together, the explosions marked the worst strike in Kirkuk since early February, when a suicide bomber at the city’s Kurdish security headquarters set off a series of rapid-fire attacks that killed seven and wounded up to 80 people.

Located 180 miles (290 kilometers) north of Baghdad, Kirkuk has been an ethnic flashpoint for years among Kurds, Arabs and Turkomen who each claim the oil-rich city as their own. And these sectarian and ethnic rifts have been fueled by the Agents , who doesn’t want that certainity and peace should prevail in these areas ,

It should also be noted that , since the US forces date of departure is coming near , these Blast and attacks have increased , that may also look as the US forces are needed  more than ever , to maintain the Peace and tranquility . The US forces Heads in Iraq have repeatedly asked the Iraqi Government , that if they need their presence , then the agreement for their stay should be extended , and should be told in advance , But as the Whole of the Iraqi Nation is United on One Point agenda that they No longer want the US forces in their country , as they think that the Militancy can never be eradicated from Iraq, in the Presence of the US forces.

Militancy and terrorism continue to be rampant in Iraq eight years after US-led invasion of the oil-rich country, despite the persisting presence of at least 47,000 US troops there.

In 2003, Washington led its allies in the occupation of Iraq under the pretext that the country was then in possession of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

However, it was later  revealed  that not only the country did not harbor any such arms, but that American and British leaders, who heavily promoted and participated in the hugely destructive military action, knew about the non-existence of WMD’s in Iraq.

Over one million Iraqis have suffered violent deaths as a result of the occupation, according to a study conducted by the prestigious British polling group, Opinion Research Business (ORB).

About 5 million children have also been orphaned as violence has been surging continuously, ORB said.