Rocket attack on Green Zone

The Green Zone includes the US and British embassies as well as major Iraqi government offices.

Attacks in Baghdad probably stemmed from rising tensions between rival Shiite groups - some of whom may have been behind the Green Zone blasts. It was the most sustained assault in months against the nerve centre of the US mission.

The deadliest attack of the day was in Mosul when a suicide driver slammed his vehicle through a security checkpoint in a hail of gunfire and detonated his explosives in front of an Iraqi headquarters building, killing 13 Iraqi soldiers and injuring 42 other people, police said.

Iraqi guards opened fire on the vehicle but couldn't stop it because the windscreen was bullet-proof, said an Iraqi army officer. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not supposed to release the information.

Mosul, Iraq's third largest city about 225 miles north-west of Baghdad, has been described as the last major urban area where the Sunni extremist al Qaida group maintains a significant presence.

In Baghdad, rockets and mortars began slamming into the Green Zone about sunrise, and scattered attacks persisted throughout the day, sending plumes of smoke rising over the heavily-guarded district in the heart of the capital.

A US public address system in the Green Zone warned people to "duck and cover" and to stay away from windows. At least five people were injured in the zone, a US Embassy statement said without specifying nationalities.