BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Two bomb attacks carried out by al Qaeda militants in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Friday killed 21 people, the U.S. military said on Saturday.

Iraqi police had previously put the death toll at nine.

"Al Qaeda murdered 21 innocent Iraqis," U.S. military spokesman Rear Admiral Gregory Smith told a news conference.

One of the attacks involved a suicide car bomber who targeted an Iraqi police checkpoint in Mosul.

ADVERTISEMENT