Baghdad, june 14, 2010: Fifteen people were killed and dozens wounded Sunday when suicide bombers detonated at least one bomb at Iraq’s central bank and gunmen battled troops in what officials said may have been a raid on the vaults.

An armed gang staged a daring raid on Iraq’s Central Bank on Sunday, killing at least 15 people before blowing themselves up rather than be captured.In the latest of a series of violent robberies blamed on current or former insurgents, the attackers executed a well-planned attack as the bank was closing.

A suicide bomber wearing the uniform of a captain in the Iraqi army detonated a bomb outside the building shortly before 3pm. A series of six to eight car bomb explosions around the bank building then followed.

The attack occurred as bank employees were leaving work, sending a thick plume of smoke over Baghdad after the bank’s generator was set ablaze.Security sources gave conflicting accounts of what actually happened, and some said the attackers had been disguised in military uniforms — a tactic not uncommon in Iraq.

Soldiers and police locked down Baghdad’s main arteries, with the capital on high alert for the first session of Iraq’s new parliament Monday after a March election that has yet to yield a government.

Troops came under fire from gunmen as they surrounded the bank in case the initial bombing was part of a plan to plunder stockpiles of Iraqi dinars and U.S. dollars, said Baghdad security spokesman Major General Qassim al-Moussawi.

“It’s not clear to us whether this was a robbery or an attempt to cause destruction,” said Moussawi. “But we can definitely say they targeted the central bank.”Interior Ministry sources said 15 people were killed and 45 wounded. Moussawi told state television there were also four suicide bombers and three gunmen, all of whom were killed. One Interior Ministry source said dozens of attackers in military uniforms were involved and most escaped.

A central bank official, who asked not to be identified, said security forces had ordered all employees and civilians to stay inside while helicopters hovered over the site.

“The security forces warned us that if anyone moves, they will shoot them,” the official said. “They let us out after they checked our badges.”

The parliament had to meet by law, but is unlikely to be able to function as the main parties, none of which gained an overall majority, have yet to agree on forming a coalition government or choosing a prime minister.