Al-Maliki's flight to Mosul, 360 km northwest of the capital, mirrors a trip he took almost two months ago to the southern city of Basra, where government troops fought Shia fighters.

Also on Wednesday in the south of Iraqi capital, Baghdad, a young girl strapped with explosives killed an Iraqi captain and wounded four soldiers. Ahmed Ali, an Iraqi army lieutenant, said the explosives were detonated by remote control as the girl approached the Iraqi officer.

Both Iraqi and American spokesmen confirmed that the attack took place.