Woman killed, 10 injured, by Mosul suicide bomber

A suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt blew himself up today in front of the police headquarters in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, killing a woman and injuring 10 others.

The bomber was apparently trying to enter the police directorate building when he was stopped at the first of the several checkpoints around it, said Maj. Gen. Wathiq al-Hamdani, the city police chief.

He said the bomber detonated the belt outside the barricade, killing a woman bystander and injuring 10 people, including eight policemen.

Mosul, a predominantly Arab Sunni city, is 225 miles north-west of the capital Baghdad, and has been the scene of frequent attacks on Iraqi government facilities by Sunni insurgents.