“Two suicide bombers managed to blow themselves up inside his room and his body is still under debris,” a police source in Mosul said. –Photo by AFP

MOSUL: Two suicide bombers attacked a police battalion in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Wednesday and killed the commander, police sources said.

The sources said two attackers, wearing explosive vests, detonated their vests in the room of Lieutenant Colonel Shamil Ahmed, who headed the battalion in Mosul’s western area of Bab Sinjar.

A third suicide bomber was killed by police before he was able to enter the main building.

“Lieutenant Colonel Shamil (Ahmed) was known to be active in pursuing al Qaeda members in Mosul and for this reason he was targeted,” a police source in Mosul told Reuters.

“Two suicide bombers managed to blow themselves up inside his room and his body is still under debris.”

The source, who said there was no immediate word on other casualties, said Ahmed had escaped an attempt on his life last year.

The northern city of Mosul, about 390 km north of Baghdad, is considered the last urban stronghold of the al Qaeda militant group.

Although overall violence in Iraq has dropped sharply since the height of sectarian warfare in 2006-07, bombings and attacks are still a daily occurrence.

On Monday, twin suicide bombings rocked a government compound in the western city of Ramadi, killing 17 people and wounding dozens.