Suicide bomber strikes in Mosul

Suicide bomber strikes in Mosul

Eleven people have been killed during a American raid in the Iraqi city of Mosul in which a suicide bomber blew himself up, the US military says.

Three women and three children were among the dead at the private home, the US military said, adding that five "terrorists" had also died.

However, an official at a local morgue told the BBC most of the dead showed signs of bullet wounds.

Elsewhere in Mosul, four people were killed when gunmen attacked a funeral.

Three other people were wounded in the drive-by attack in the Zanjili district, the BBC's Hugh Sykes reports from Baghdad.

In September, three members of an Iraqi television crew and their driver were kidnapped and shot dead in the same neighbourhood.

'Last stronghold'

In a statement on the deadly explosion, US officials said troops had exchanged fire with armed men as they entered the building for what they described as an operation to capture a wanted man.

The morgue official dealing with the aftermath of the suicide bombing said one body bag contained fragments of human remains, consistent with the report that there was a suicide bomber at the house, our correspondent says.

US authorities confirmed that some of those who died could have been killed by gunshot wounds.

Following the blast soldiers later found weapons and explosives in the building, the statement said.

"This is just another tragic example of how al-Qaeda in Iraq hides behind innocent Iraqis," a spokesman said.

On Saturday US forces said they had killed a senior al-Qaeda bomb-maker and strategist in Baghdad.

Our correspondent says American forces have mounted many attacks this year against suspected al-Qaeda members in Mosul, which they describe as al-Qaeda's last stronghold.

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