Fourteen people were killed and 35 others wounded in a series of bombings in northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Wednesday, a local police source said.

The police source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that two car bombs exploded within an interval of 10 minutes in a Shiite neighborhood north of Mosul, leaving 12 people dead and 35 others wounded.

Additionally, a bomb placed in a car was detonated in Zmeir area north of Mosul, killing 2 people.

Mosul, some 400 kilometers north of Baghdad, is said to be one of the last strongholds of al-Qaida militants in the war-torn country.

Iraqi security forces started to guard their towns and cities since July 1, following the pullout of U.S. combat troops according to the Status of Forces Agreement.

Both Iraq and U.S. officials warned of more attacks testing abilities of Iraqi security forces.

(Xinhua News Agency July 9, 2009)