Iraq: Suicide bomber attacks Kirkuk cafe, at least 31 dead
Iraqis carry a bombing victim in the northern city of Kirkuk on May 15, 2013. Bombings in Iraq, including two car bomb in Kirkuk, killed several people and wounded many more, security and medical officials said.
A suicide attack in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Friday killed at least 31 people, reported Reuters.
The blast struck a cafe in the ethnically divided city, which is located in an area claimed by Baghdad and Kurds, and injured at least 28 people, according to MSN.
Iraqi police told CNN the blast killed 33 people in the cafe, many of whom were in the midst of playing a Ramadan game called Mahaibes.
Local authorities reportedly described the attacker entering the coffee shop wearing a bomb-strapped belt, which was detonated around 10:30 PM local time — that is, well after sundown, when Muslims would be breaking their daylong fast.
The AP identified the scene of the attack as Classico Cafe in the city's south, saying people were there "enjoying tea and water pipes" before the blast.
The violence comes at the end of a particularly violent week in Iraq, with dozens killed across the predominantly Muslim nation over the last several days at the start of the holy Islamic month of Ramadan.
Last week's violence notwithstanding, the nation has a massive surge in violence in recent months, with over 2,000 people killed since April.
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