Police: Female suicide bomber kills 3 in Iraq

Blast went off in predominantly Shiite are in central Baghdad

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updated 6:34 a.m. ET Feb. 17, 2008

BAGHDAD - A female suicide bomber blew herself up in a predominantly Shiite area in central Baghdad on Sunday morning, killing at least three people and wounding 10, police said.

Police in the Masbah commercial area suspected the woman, who was in a black Islamic robe, and asked her to stop but she fled to a nearby building, said an officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to release information.

The attack was one of two bombings in Iraq on Sunday morning.

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In the northern city of Mosul, a bomb in a parked car detonated, killing a police officer and two civilians, police there said.

The slain policeman was examining the car, which was parked in the eastern section of Mosul, 360 kilometers (225 miles) north of Baghdad, when it was exploded remotely, a police officer said.

Two civilians also were injured in the explosion, said the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release information.

Mosul is the last major urban stronghold of insurgent forces and a focus of the U.S. and Iraqi military efforts.