Twelve civilians were killed and dozens injured in a suicide bombing Saturday in Iraq's northern city of Mosul, an army officer said.

Major Abdul-Basit al-Jazaeri of the anti-terrorism forces said Daesh terrorists had detonated an explosives-laden tanker in al-Qadesiya al-Thaneya district in eastern Mosul.

"Twelve people were killed and 30 others injured," he told Anadolu Agency.

According to the officer, many of the injured are in a critical condition.

"Daesh snipers are making any attempt to rescue those under the debris a tough mission," he said.

Daesh captured Mosul along with vast swathes of northern and western Iraq, in mid-2014.

For the past seven weeks, the Iraqi army -- backed by U.S.-led coalition warplanes and local allies on the ground -- has been fighting to retake Mosul, which was once considered Iraq's second most populous city.