The militant Iraqi group Ansar al-Sunna has claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that killed at least 23 people and left more than 80 others wounded in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk.
The Kirkuk attack took place Tuesday, as former Kurdish rebel leader Massoud Barzani took office as the first regional president of the northern Kurdish area -- swearing to address ethnic tensions.
Separately, at least five Iraqi soldiers were killed today, Tuesday when a suicide car bomber struck an army checkpoint in a town north of Baghdad in Kanaan. And U.S. officials say one U.S. soldier was killed in a grenade attack in Baghdad.
U.S. military officials say American soldiers stopped would-be suicide bombers from carrying out an attack in the Baghdad area on Monday when they engaged the militants with gunfire, setting off the explosives prematurely.
The Kirkuk attack took place Tuesday, as former Kurdish rebel leader Massoud Barzani took office as the first regional president of the northern Kurdish area -- swearing to address ethnic tensions.
Separately, at least five Iraqi soldiers were killed today, Tuesday when a suicide car bomber struck an army checkpoint in a town north of Baghdad in Kanaan. And U.S. officials say one U.S. soldier was killed in a grenade attack in Baghdad.
U.S. military officials say American soldiers stopped would-be suicide bombers from carrying out an attack in the Baghdad area on Monday when they engaged the militants with gunfire, setting off the explosives prematurely.