Officials: Multiple car bomb explosions in disputed northern Iraqi city kill 9

BAGHDAD – Officials say a string of six car bombs in a northern Iraqi city has killed nine people and wounded 79.

Two police officers say the bombs, all parked cars, went off simultaneously Monday morning in and around Kirkuk, home to a mix of ethnic groups with competing claims.

Three bombs exploded downtown — one in an Arab district, one in a Kurdish one, and one in a Turkomen district. The rest went off outside. A detailed casualty breakdown wasn't available.

Bombings are common in Iraq, most blamed on al-Qaida militants. But six at once is an unusually large number and multiple ethnic groups are rarely targeted simultaneously.

The police officers spoke anonymously as they were not authorized to release information. Senior health official Sidiq Omar Rasool confirmed the casualty figures.