At least 12 Iraqis were killed Tuesday when a suicide car bomber blew up his vehicle in northern Iraq, police said. According to the AP, Police Capt. Farhad Talabani said the bombing took place on a road leaving Kirkuk, 290 kilometers north of Baghdad.
Earlier, a mortar round went off on Tuesday during a ceremony outside the town of Tikrit attended by US ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad and other senior officials, injuring one person, AFP reported. The shell exploded in a former Saddam Hussein palace complex as US forces officially handed over control of the area to Iraqi officials.
Meanwhile, Iraqi leaders called for a timetable of US pullout and said Iraq's opposition had a "legitimate right" of resistance. The statement - finalized by Shiite, Kurdish and Sunni leaders Monday - condemned terrorism, but added that "insurgents" should not be labeled as terrorists if their attacks do not target innocent civilians.
The leaders agreed on "calling for the withdrawal of foreign troops according to a timetable, through putting in place an immediate national program to rebuild the armed forces ... control the borders and the security situation" and end terror attacks, AP reported.
