Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq

    MOSUL, Iraq, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Around 150 people were killed and wounded after four car bombings struck two separate towns near Iraqi northern city of Mosul on Tuesday, a local police source told Xinhua.

    Two car bombs exploded in the town of Sinjar, some 100 km northwest of Mosul, capital of Nineveh province, while two other bombings rocked another town near the city, the source said on condition of anonymity.

    So far, the four car bombings has left some 150 people killed and injured, the source added without giving a breakdown of how many people were dead.

    Mosul, 400 km north of Baghdad, is located in the Sunni-predominated province of Nineveh, which is plagued by violent Sunni insurgency and al-Qaida attacks.