Attackers targeted a security compound in an alleged bid to free al-Qaeda suspects [AFP]

At least 13 people have been killed and another 10 injured in a series of attacks involving explosives-packed cars and suicide bombers in Ramadi, around 100km west of Baghdad.

The attacks began at around 11:30am with three blasts in east Ramadi, Anbar province government spokesman Mohammad Fathi told Al Jazeera.

One car bomb detonated in the parking lot of Anbar's investment committee, killing two people and injuring seven, while a roadside bomb that exploded near the Haq mosque on the main road through the city killed one person and injured three.

Another roadside bomb detonated near the electricity directorate but caused no casualties.

Shortly thereafter, a car bomb exploded near an American-built compound housing a police station and counterterrorism directorate. Six men wearing suicide bomb vests tried to fight their way inside in an attempt to free several "senior" suspects alleged to belong to al-Qaeda in Iraq, Fathi said.

One bomber detonated at the main gate of the compound, killing three guards, a police officer and himself. When the other five men failed to free the prisoners and were driven back to an adjacent building under construction, they detonated their vests one by one until all were dead, Fathi said.

The attacks "could have been a lot worse" but are part of a trend of strikes involving suicide bombers, said Al Jazeera's Jane Arraf, reporting from Baghad.

"There are a lot of vulnerabilities in Ramadi and in the Iraqi security system," she said.