Insurgents target Iraq oil hub

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KIRKUK, Iraq, July 5 (AFP): Insurgents launched three attacks in and around the disputed oil hub of Kirkuk in northern Iraq Thursday, killing two people and wounding several others, according to security officials.
In one attack, militants detonated a roadside bomb near an Iraqi patrol in charge of protecting local oil infrastructure, killing one soldier and injuring another three, including an officer, an Iraqi army official said.
Another roadside bomb targeting a police patrol inside the city itself killed one civilian and seriously wounded three policemen, according to Police Colonel Ahmed Shamrani.
Meanwhile, gunmen kidnapped four truck drivers transporting concrete blocks 110 kilometres (70 miles) south of Kirkuk, according to local police.
Despite its potentially volatile ethnic makeup, the city of Kirkuk has been more peaceful than many other parts of Iraq, but insurgents have carried out frequent attacks along highways outside the city.