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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Seven killed in north Iraq blast | Seven killed in north Iraq blast |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| At least seven people have been killed and 70 wounded by a huge explosion in a residential building in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, police have said. | At least seven people have been killed and 70 wounded by a huge explosion in a residential building in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, police have said. |
| Gen Abdul Kareem al-Jubouri said the blast followed a raid on a suspected bomb factory in the building and that surrounding homes were also destroyed. | Gen Abdul Kareem al-Jubouri said the blast followed a raid on a suspected bomb factory in the building and that surrounding homes were also destroyed. |
| Women and children are said to be among the victims of the blast in the city, 390km (240 miles) north of Baghdad. | Women and children are said to be among the victims of the blast in the city, 390km (240 miles) north of Baghdad. |
| The ethnically mixed city has seen an upsurge in violence in the past year. | The ethnically mixed city has seen an upsurge in violence in the past year. |
| Correspondents say the increased violence appears to be a consequence of the offensive by US-led forces in and around Baghdad. | Correspondents say the increased violence appears to be a consequence of the offensive by US-led forces in and around Baghdad. |
| Many Sunni insurgent groups are believed to have reacted by transferring their bases of operations to other provinces north of the capital. | Many Sunni insurgent groups are believed to have reacted by transferring their bases of operations to other provinces north of the capital. |
| Police raid | Police raid |
| Witnesses described Wednesday's explosion in Mosul as one of the biggest explosions they had ever heard, and said a huge plume of spoke had risen above the city. | |
| Gen Jubouri, the head of the operations room at police headquarters in Mosul, said Iraqi security forces had launched a raid on a block of flats at 1630 (1330 GMT) after being told that weapons and explosives had been hidden inside. | Gen Jubouri, the head of the operations room at police headquarters in Mosul, said Iraqi security forces had launched a raid on a block of flats at 1630 (1330 GMT) after being told that weapons and explosives had been hidden inside. |
| "It seems that when the insurgents discovered that police and army forces had reached the building, they detonated it," he told the Reuters news agency. | "It seems that when the insurgents discovered that police and army forces had reached the building, they detonated it," he told the Reuters news agency. |
| The general said the explosion caused the three-storey building to collapse and badly damaged adjoining houses. | The general said the explosion caused the three-storey building to collapse and badly damaged adjoining houses. |
| Police have appealed for heavy equipment to help free those trapped by the debris and the number of casualties is expected to rise, he added. | Police have appealed for heavy equipment to help free those trapped by the debris and the number of casualties is expected to rise, he added. |
| Earlier, the US military said its forces had killed 10 militants in an operation targeting al-Qaeda in Iraq north of Baquba in Diyala province. | Earlier, the US military said its forces had killed 10 militants in an operation targeting al-Qaeda in Iraq north of Baquba in Diyala province. |
| Coalition forces used air support in the operation, in which supplies of weapons were also recovered, a statement said. | Coalition forces used air support in the operation, in which supplies of weapons were also recovered, a statement said. |
| Five militants were killed in an operation in the same area on Tuesday, it added. | Five militants were killed in an operation in the same area on Tuesday, it added. |