BAGHDAD: Iraqi officials say two car bombs have exploded in the northern city of Mosul, killing five people and wounding 18.

An army officer says the first explosion on Wednesday occurred at about 8:30 a.m. when a parked car bomb went off next to an army patrol, killing three soldiers and wounding three civilians.

He says the second blast came fifteen minutes later, when another parked car bomb exploded in a nearby neighborhood. That explosion killed two civilians and wounded 15.

The target was unclear.

A police officer and a doctor confirmed the causality figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to the media.

Mosul, 225 miles (360 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad, has for years been a hub for al-Qaeda in Iraq.