Seven Iraqis Killed in Mosul Explosion

Seven people were killed and up to 70 wounded in a bomb attack on a residential building in Iraq's northern city of Mosul today.

The blast occurred as police arrived at the building to investigate a tip-off that weapons were being stored in the block.

Women and children were among the casualties, police said.

Witnesses told Reuters it was one of the biggest explosions they had ever heard in Mosul, which is 240 miles north of Baghdad.

A militant Sunni group is thought to be responsible for the blast.

Brigadier General Abdul-Karim al-Jubouri told AP that the explosion occurred at about 4.30pm (1.30pm GMT) after the arrival of Iraqi police forces.

It comes during a new US led offensive against al-Qaeda in Iraq.

Earlier today, gunmen opened fire on an Iraqi army checkpoint in central Baghdad, killing eight soldiers, police said.

The drive-by shooting occurred in the Bab al-Mudham district, a commercial area on the eastern side of the Tigris River in central Baghdad.

Two other soldiers were wounded, a police officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to release the information.

It was the latest in a series of bombings, shootings and mortar attacks as militants sought to undermine recent security gains.

The Iraqi government has been criticized for failing to take advantage of those gains to make progress on reforms the Americans believe are necessary to stem support for the Sunni-led insurgency.