Two bomb blasts killed 11 people in Iraq on Thursday, reflecting the ongoing insurgent activity that defies overall security improvements and sows fears among some Iraqis about a return to bloodshed of the past. The first bomb exploded inside a political party office in Baquba, killing seven people and wounding eight, said Lieutenant Colonel Abdul Hameed al-Shimari, the head of an emergency police unit in restive Diyala province. Hours later, a suicide bomber drove a car packed with explosives into a police station in Qaim, near the Syrian border in western Iraq, killing four people and wounding seven.
Separately, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is due to meet Kurdish President Masoud Barzani next week, a rare encounter between two leaders whose standoff over territory, power and oil threatens renewed bloodshed in Iraq. Maliki may also meet with Barham Salih, a Kurd who is Iraq's deputy prime minister, who Kurdish officials say is set to become Kurdistan's new prime minister. Meanwhile, Iraq's government admitted on Thursday that seven Iranian exiles were killed when Iraqi forces took control of their camp north of Baghdad. Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh had earlier denied anyone died in clashes on Tuesday between police and demonstrators who tried to block their entry into Camp Ashraf, which has been home to the People's Mujahideen of Iran for about two decades.