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HEIDI
COLLINS: Dozens of people dead in Iraq. A suicide
bomber attacking a crowded restaurant during holiday
celebrations.
CNN's Michael Ware is joining us now live from
Baghdad with more details on what happened.
Hi, Michael.
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, hey, Heidi.
Unfortunately, just a little over three hours ago, a
suicide bomber plunged into a packed restaurant on
this religious holiday, just outside the northern
city of Kirkuk which is about 160 miles north of the
capital Baghdad where I'm standing now.
From the mixed reports from various government
officials that we're getting, it appears that around
50 people have died, and more than 90 have been
wounded in this suicide bombing.
Now what we've just learned is that the president of
Iraq's political party which dominates that city,
Kirkuk, was having a meeting with rivals from an Arab
bloc inside the restaurant. Yet shrouded around them
were families there having a holiday feast.
And so we're led to believe by officials on the
ground that the most gut-wrenching part of this may
be yet to come, in that many of the victims are
expected to be children. The restaurant was most
popular with families, and it had a children's
playground.
The war in Iraq just keeps chipping away, Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, Michael, we will be watching that
story today, as it develops as well.
Thanks so much. Michael Ware, live from Baghdad this
morning.