Iraq suicide bomber kills three soldiers

A suicide bomber killed three Iraqi soldiers and injured three others on Tuesday when he rammed his explosives-laden car into an army patrol in northern Iraq, police said.

A suicide bomber killed three Iraqi soldiers and injured three others on Tuesday when he rammed his explosives-laden car into an army patrol in northern Iraq, police said.

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The attack occurred in early afternoon in the Al-Maliya district of the troubled city of Mosul, north of Baghdad, according to local police commander Ahmed al-Jaaburi.

The US military considers Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, to be the last urban stronghold of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, the group believed to be behind scores of devastating bombings since the 2003 US-led invasion which toppled Saddam.

The incident comes amid fears of a spike in violence as Iraq prepares for its first polls in four years.

Nineveh province, of which Mosul is the capital, has 454 candidates vying for election -- the lowest number of candidates among the 14 Iraqi provinces voting on January 31.