Six Iraqi national guards, 10 civilians wounded in Mosul attacks

MOSUL, Iraq, Dec 9 (AFP) - Six Iraqi national guardsmen and 10 civilians were wounded in two bomb attacks in the northern city of Mosul on Thursday, police said.
A bomb concealed in a motorcycle side-car exploded at around 2:00 pm (1100 GMT) at the Yarmuk roundabout in the centre of Iraq's third city, targeting a joint Iraqi-US patrol, said Lieutenant Bassam Salim.
Six national guardsmen were wounded in the blast, he added.
The attack was claimed by the group of Iraq's most-wanted man, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Organisation of Al-Qaeda in the Land of Two Rivers (Iraq), according to posters put up at several mosques in the city.
Their authenticity was impossible to verify.
The group has claimed responsibility for a number of attacks in Mosul, notably those targeting Iraq's fledgling police and national guards.
Earlier, 10 Iraqis were wounded when a car bomb exploded close to a US convoy in Mosul, the US military said.
"A car bomb attack occurred at around 10:00 am, 10 Iraqi civilians were wounded," said Lieutenant Colonel Hastings.
"A US forces convoy was in the vicinity but there were no damages or (American) injuries," he said.

12/09/2004 15:35 GMT - AFP