Kirkuk car crashes leave one dead, several injured

KIRKUK — A collision on the Kirkuk-Tikrit Road Wednesday killed a police officer and injured three others, local authorities said.

A Kirkuk traffic police source told 964media that the accident involved a passenger car  and a pickup truck. “After midday, a traffic accident took place on the Kirkuk-Tikrit Road, resulting in the immediate death of a passenger in the BMW and injuries to three others. All were transferred to hospitals in Kirkuk,” the source said.

Amjad Naji, a friend of the deceased, identified him as Mustafa Hamid Rifai, a Kirkuk native who served as a local police officer in Tikrit. “He was married and the father of two children,” Naji told 964media.

Authorities have not determined the exact cause of the incident.

In a separate fatal crash Wednesday, a head-on collision in the Baiji district claimed the lives of the director of Shirqat’s civil defense and his driver, and left three passengers in serious condition, officials said.