Ten dead in Iraq military base attack

A suicide bomber has detonated a truck packed with explosives at a military base in northern Iraq.

Militants have launched a brazen attack on a military base in northern Iraq, killing 10 soldiers. (AAP)

Militants have launched a brazen attack on a military base in a restive area in northern Iraq, killing at least 10 soldiers and wounding 12.

The morning attack at the base outside the city of Mosul, about 360 kilometres northwest of Baghdad, started with a suicide bomber who detonated his truck packed with explosives at the gates of the facility, an army officer and a police officer said.

A group of gunmen then opened fire from apparently commandeered military Humvees and a shootout ensued.

At least 10 troops were killed and 12 were wounded, the officials said.

Eight militants were also killed in the fighting.

In Baghdad, meanwhile, a car bomb exploded on a busy commercial street in the Karrada neighbourhood, killing at least nine people and wounding 22 others, police said.

Hospital officials confirmed the casualty figures.

There were no immediate claims of responsibility for Thursday's attacks, but large-scale well-coordinated assaults like the one outside Mosul are a hallmark of the Islamic State.