Grenade attack hurts Iraq ex-minister: police

KIRKUK: A grenade lobbed at her car in nothern Iraq wounded former housing minister Bayane Dezehi on Tuesday, a police official said.

"The car caught fire and she and her driver were both wounded," he said, adding that the attack happened the city of Tuz Khurmatu in northern in northern Kirkuk province.

Dezehi was a minister in Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's previous government in 2006-2010, and belongs to President Jalal Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party.

Though still dramatically less than the peak years of 2006 and 2007, violence has been surging in Iraq over the past few months, with attacks especially targetting the security forces, as well as government officials and institutions.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011