Breaking on BBC: Blast at US Base in Mosul

At least 40 people have been killed by a suicide bomb inside a military base housing US and Iraqi forces near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.

The attacker struck at an Iraqi police recruitment centre at the base in Kisk. No Americans died, the US said.

Up to 30 people were hurt in the blast, which went off among a crowd of recruits, Iraqi officials said.

Mosul was the scene of a bombing at a military base in December 2004, when 18 Americans and four Iraqis died.

That attack was caused by a suicide bomber wearing an Iraqi uniform who detonated his explosives in a US mess tent.

Sporadic attacks

The BBC's Mike Wooldridge, in Baghdad, says attacks on army and police recruitment centres used to take place frequently.

However they have been much less common in recent times as the conflict in Iraq has become more sectarian in nature, he adds.

There were no immediate details on how the bomber breached the base's security, although latest reports suggest it was a suicide car bombing.

The village of Kisk, which houses the military base, lies between Mosul and Talafar.

Both towns have been the scene of much anti-US violence and unrest in the three years since the US-led invasion of Iraq.

US President George W Bush singled out Talafar in a recent speech as a success story in the campaign to quell the insurgency.

Link Here