At least 15 people were killed on  Sunday when a suicide bomber blew herself up near a police picket in the northern Iraqi city of Baquba, the police said.

Around 30 people were wounded in the blast.

According to the police, a woman wearing an explosive vest blew herself up near a police picket outside the secretariat of Diyala provincial government.

The toll could rise as some of the wounded are in serious condition, a police official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The attack came even as the US and Iraqi security forces have been mounting major offensives against the Sunni and Shia insurgents across the war-torn country.

The province has long been the stronghold of al Qaida in Iraq network.