LOC16:32
13:32 GMT
ISTANBUL, Dec 12 (KUNA) -- The Turkish Foreign Ministry on Friday denounced
the Kirkuk bomb explosion as a terrorist act that aimed to "divide Iraq".
It voiced much dismay at the terrorist bombing that had nothing to do
whatsoever with human values.
It showed Turkey's readiness to send any emergency aid needed by Iraq in
such serious circumstances.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul also sent a condolence message to his Iraqi
counterpart Jalal Talabani, condemning the Kirkuk explosion.
Turkish hospitals are set to receive 16 injured Iraqis for medical
treatment upon directives from the Turkish leader.
Earlier on Thursday, as many as 50 Iraqi people were killed and at least
100 others wounded in a suicide explosion at a restaurant near the northern
Iraqi city of Kirkuk.
A suicide bomber activated a booby-trapped belt in the middle of the
Abdullah Restaurant in Kirkuk.
The blast came at a time when Kirkuk was in tight security ahead of Iraqi
President Jalal Talabani's planned tour of the city. (end)
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