Baghdad  - A woman suicide bomber who was wearing an explosive belt blew up herself Thursday when high-ranking members of the Awakening Councils were passing by in the northern city of Baquba, according to witnesses.

They told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa the blast killed three people including a leading Awakening Councils member identified as al-Hag Naeem, and two of his assistants. At least 10 more people were wounded.

The Awakening Councils are US-backed tribal police units formed to fight al-Qaeda militants in Iraq.

The Voices of Iraq (VOI) news agency reported the number killed as seven, with 24 wounded. The source told VOI that some civilians were among the dead. The source expected the toll to rise. (dpa)