Officials: Suicide car bomber attacks police patrol in northern Iraq, kills 4

BAGHDAD – Officials say a suicide car bomb in northern Iraq has killed at least four people.

A police officer says the bomber rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into a police patrol in a village outside the city of Mosul on Saturday morning. He says that three civilian bystanders and one policeman were killed, and six people were wounded. Mosul is 360 kilometers (220 miles) northwest of Baghdad.

A medical official confirmed the casualty figures. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release information.

With violence spiking sharply in recent months to levels not seen since 2008, al-Qaida in Iraq and other militant groups have been gathering strength in Mosul and surrounding cities.