Report: Four dead in Iraq bombing
ARBIL, Iraq (Reuters) -- A suicide car bomb has exploded outside a government building in the Kurdish city of Arbil in northern Iraq killing at least four people and wounded 20, Iraqi officials said.
The car detonated just outside the gates of the Interior Ministry in the city, killing the bomber, two policemen guarding the facility and a passer-by.
The ministry building suffered material damage and windows of nearby residential buildings were shattered by the blast, witnesses said.
U.S.-led occupation forces in Iraq have tightened security in Baghdad and other hotspots in anticipation of attacks by insurgents to coincide with the holiday season.
The mainly Kurdish north has seen less violence than the rest of Iraq since U.S.-led forces deposed Saddam Hussein in April, but several car bombs have targeted U.S. troops and Iraqis working with them in the region.
Arbil was the seat of an autonomous Kurdish government after the 1991 Gulf War when U.S.-backed Kurds rebelled against Saddam's government in Baghdad.
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