* Robbers armed with hand grenades and guns
* Lines between crime and insurgency becoming blurred
(Updates death toll, changes dateline)
KIRKUK, Iraq, Oct 26 (Reuters) - At least 10 people were killed, including five policemen, when gunmen attacked a goldsmiths&${esc.hash}39; market in the northern Iraqi oil city of Kirkuk on Tuesday, police and hospital sources said.
Police said there were clashes between the armed men and security forces. Ten people were wounded, including two policemen.
The gunmen armed with hand grenades and other weapons robbed gold shops at the busy market in Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, a hospital source said.
It was not immediately clear whether the suspects were insurgents or a criminal gang.
While overall violence in Iraq has dropped since the height of sectarian warfare in 2006-07, bombings and shootings remain a regular occurrence. Often the line between crime and insurgency has become blurred, security analysts said.
Gold markets have been a target of major attacks in past months. An attack on a gold market in Baghdad in May killed 14 people. Around half a dozen gunmen attacked and robbed a goldsmiths&${esc.hash}39; market in Basra in June, killing three people and wounding four others.
Security officials had said some of the insurgent groups that took up arms after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion have turned to crime to finance their operations, attacking banks, gold markets and jewellery shops. (Reporting by Mustafa Mahmoud; Writing by Serena Chaudhry; Editing by Peter Graff)
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