U.S. military officials say the bomb attack against a military convoy occurred southwest of the northern city of Kirkuk. In Mosul, a powerful car bomb detonated late Saturday morning in front of the police station. Witnesses reported seeing multiple casualties and body parts strewn around the area. They also said the explosion shattered windows and sent large plumes of smoke into the air.

A day earlier, three Iraqi soldiers were killed in Mosul when gunmen opened fire on them at a checkpoint. Coalition soldiers and Iraqi police and security forces remain daily targets for attacks by anti-coalition insurgents.

Most of the attacks occur in the so-called Sunni Triangle, once the heartland of Saddam Hussein's power base. But other areas, including Baghdad and Mosul, have also been frequent targets of attacks.