IRBIL, Iraq Feb. 1 — Two suicide bombers blew themselves up at the offices of two rival Kurdish parties in this northern Iraqi city, and officials said "dozens" may have been killed including senior party leaders.
The near-simultaneous attacks at the offices of the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan took place as party leaders were receving hundreds of visitors to mark the start of the four-day Muslim holiday, Eid Al-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice.
Irbil is about 200 miles north of Baghdad.
A KDP official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said "dozens have been killed and dozens were injured." He said the casualties are being evacuated to two hospitals in the region.
The official said the Irbil governor, the deputy governor and the deputy finance minister were among those killed.
PUK spokesman Qubad Talabani told CNN that the death toll "could well be in the dozens and the numbers are rising ... by the minute."
"The scene is pretty chaotic at the moment. We are hearing reports of many casualties. There are many many injured as well," he said, adding he could not confirm that senior officials were killed.
The PUK and KDP parties control the Kurdish-dominated provinces of northern Iraq where most of the country's minority Kurds live. There was no claim of responsibility. However, a radical Kurdish group, Ansar al-Islam, operates in the Kurdish region and has been linked by U.S. officials to al-Qaida.
Thousands of people crowded outside Irbil's hospital, looking for loved ones but were kept out by police.
Irbil Gov. Akram Mintik and the deputy prime minister of the region, Sami Abdul Rahman, were at the building of the Kurdistan Democratic Party at the time of the attack, which took place about 10:45 a.m, KDP official Mohammed Munif said. But he didn't know if they were safe.
He said the two officials were greeting people when the attacker approached them and detonated the explosives strapped around his body. He also said many people were killed.
The second attack took place at about the same time in the office of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan across town, PUK spokesman Kadhim Ali said. He said several people were killed and injured in the PUK attack.
U.S. military officials had said they were prepared for any upsurge of violence in connection with the holiday. The start of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan last year marked a sharp escalation in violence against the U.S.-led coalition and its Iraqi allies.
<snip>
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20040201_336.html