Hours earlier, a car bomb blast struck the offices of a US-appointed local Council in Ramadi. Officials said two people were killed and seven wounded in what was a suicide attack. ‘‘A car filled with explosives came fast. The driver blew himself up in the car,’’ a resident said. The blast in Kirkuk, flattened a wall around the PUK office and shattered windows at a nearby school. A US officer at the scene confirmed three people were killed plus the suicide bomber, but said the death toll was likely to rise. The spate of attacks — there were also unconfirmed reports of blasts in Mosul — were a reminder of how uncertain Iraq remains more than seven months after US troops overthrew Saddam Hussein. (Reuters)