DHAKA: At least 10 soldiers have been killed and 12 others were wounded in an attack on a military base in a restive area of northern Iraq.

Thursday’s attack took place at the base outside the city of Mosul, about 360 kilometres northwest of Baghdad, when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden truck at the gates of the facility, an army officer and a police officer told media, reports Al Jazeera.

A group of gunmen then opened fire from apparently commandeered military Humvees, sparking a shoot-out.

At least 10 troops were killed and 12 wounded, officials said. Eight fighters were also killed, media reported.

A medical official confirmed the causality figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorised to talk to media.

Over the past months, Mosul and the surrounding region have seen bold attacks by fighters, mainly from an al-Qaida-splinter group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, against military and security forces.

Four people have been killed in latest artillery fire in the Iraqi town of Fallujah in Anbar Province, medical sources have informed Al Jazeera.

The ISIL has seized control of parts of Anbar’s provincial capital, Ramadi, since December, as well as the center of the nearby city of Fallujah.

Since then, Iraqi government security forces and allied Sunni tribal militias have been struggling to dislodge the fighters.

BDST: 2130 HRS, APR 17, 2014