Civilian, police officer killed in northern Iraq violence

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A civilian and a police officer were killed in violence Saturday in a restive northern Iraqi city, the U.S. military said.

The incident occurred in Mosul, the Nineveh province city where there is a strong al Qaeda in Iraq presence and where U.S. and Iraqi forces have stepped up their fight against extremists.

A pushcart exploded, killing an Iraqi civilian and wounding three civilians and two police officers, the U.S. military said. After the blast, two suspected al Qaeda in Iraq members killed a police officer, the military said. Police detained the pair.

Also Saturday, a series of raids north of Baghdad led to the detentions of several insurgents.

The U.S. military on Saturday issued news releases about several raids on Friday:

• Iraqi troops on the outskirts of Mosul killed a man wearing an explosives-laden suicide vest and detained seven people thought to be linked to an al Qaeda in Iraq front group.

• An al Qaeda in Iraq cell leader operating along the Syrian border in Nineveh province was seized. Six other people were detained.

• In western Baghdad, an Iraqi citizen was killed and seven were wounded in a blast.

Four people were killed and 10 others wounded Thursday when a car bomb exploded in western Baghdad, according to an official with Iraq's Interior Ministry.

The explosion took place about 9 p.m. local time, the official said. No further details were released.

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