Iraqi forces sealed off the area after a roadside bomb struck the minibus [AFP]

Iraqi police said as many as 13 women died on Monday after a roadside bomb struck a minibus carrying female employees from the trade ministry to work in eastern Baghdad.

One of those killed was a young girl less than 10 years old,  security officials said.

Seven people were also wounded in the explosion.

In the second attack, less than an hour later, a female suicide bomber killed at least five people and injured a dozen others when she detonated her explosives outside the foreign ministry, police said.

The US military said the attack at the entrance to the Green Zone in central Baghdad killed two Iraqi army members and three civilians.

The rush hour violence came as Iraqi legislators prepared for a vote later in the week on a security agreement with Washington that would allow US forces to remain in the country for up to three more years.

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