Police: Female suicide bomber kills 3 in Iraq

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.

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.

More from msnbc.com Blacks hard-hit by loss of middle-class jobs Forget the Taliban - Pakistani teens just wanna rap Elkhart Project: Jobless workers fill the void Will piracy crackdown bring iPod border checks? On Twitter: Breaking news updates | Weird and wild

MORE FROM MIDEAST & N. AFRICA

Mideast & N. Africa Section Front

NYT: With Iraq foothold, oil giants eye future Iran warns of tough action against U.K. sailors Netanyahu: Settlement freeze only temporary Dubai debt plan fails to soothe Gulf markets Iraq's Basra lifts ban on booze Mideast & N. Africa Section Front   Add Mideast & N. Africa headlines to your news reader: