At least 10 people were killed and more than eight wounded Monday in a car bomb explosion targeting Iraqi security forces in the north of Samarra city in Salahudin province, a provincial police source told Xinhua.

The attack took place in the morning when a booby-trapped car parked outside a military base belonging to a quick reaction police force in northern Samarra, some 110 km north of Baghdad, was detonated, the source from Salahudin's provincial operations command said on condition of anonymity.

The death toll could rise as ambulances and military vehicles are still evacuating the injured to the city hospitals, the source said.

Violence and sporadic high-profile bomb attacks continue in the Iraqi cities despite the dramatic decrease of violence over the last three years.