Iraq market truck bomb kills 105 - BBC

The Sunday morning blast destroyed the market in the small town of Amirli, south of Kirkuk, killing many people instantly and trapping dozens among the rubble.

It came as 29 people were killed in separate violence, including 22 people who died overnight in Diyala province when a suicide bomber hit a cafe.

Kirkuk referendum

The truck bomb struck Amirli on a busy shopping morning, destroying several buildings around the heart of the market, police said.

Rescuers were forced to move injured people to Tuz Khurmato, the nearest major town, some 45km (28 miles) away, and some casualties were said to have died on the way.

Others were taken on to Kirkuk, the largest city in the region, for more intensive treatment.

"I heard the cries of my child, then I heard nothing else until I woke in hospital," housewife Sukaina Abdul Razak told AFP news agency in Kirkuk.

"I don't know the fate of my husband and my family. They were all in the kitchen, but I was in my room."

Correspondents say the market bombing could have been linked to political developments in the region, where a referendum on the status of Kirkuk province is due to take place by the end of this year.

Major Attacks in 2007

7 July     : 105 killed in Amirli market bombing

19 June   : 87 die in Baghdad mosque blast

18 April  : 190 killed in car bombings in Baghdad

29 March : 82 killed in double suicide bombing in Baghdad market

6 March   : 90 killed in double suicide bombing in Hilla

3 Feb     : 130 die in suicide truck bombing in Baghdad

22 Jan:     88 killed in Baghdad car bombings

Officials in Diyala said the bomber who struck on Friday night targeted a busy cafe used by the Shia Kurdish community. The small village is close to the border with Iran.

In other violence, police said a family of seven sleeping on a Baghdad roof died when a mortar hit the building, according to BBC.