Baghdad - A female suicide bomber killed at least seven people Monday at an entrance to the fortified Baghdad diplomatic and governmental area known as the Green Zone, satellite news channel al- Arabiya has reported. Separately, 13 people were killed in a roadside bomb attack in an eastern Baghdad neighbourhood.

Eyewitness and security officials said the female bomber detonated herself at a Green Zone entrance used by high-ranking officials and staff from the Iraqi parliament. Iraqi military spokesman Qassem Attah told al-Araqiah TV that the woman was mentally handicapped.

The suicide bomber set off her bomb at a checkpoint for females. In Iraq, males and females are searched in separate check points.

At least seven people were killed and 12 were injured, according to a preliminary count of victims, sources added.

Iraqi forces blocked roads leading to the area after the attack.

The bombing marks the latest in a series of recent attacks by female suicide bombers. The women have been able to evade security checks and infiltrate crowds to maximize casualties.

On November 10, a female suicide bomber killed seven people at a police checkpoint in the city of Baquba.

Meanwhile, in the eastern Baghdad suburb of New Baghdad, an explosion near a bus carrying workers at the Iraqi Ministry of Trade killed at least 13 people, al-Arabiya reported.