Gunmen kill 6 Iraqi soldiers, 3 police at checkpoint

TIKRIT, Iraq, March 2: Gunmen opened fire on a checkpoint manned by Iraqi police and army in northern Iraq, killing six soldiers and three police officers, the US military and Iraqi officials said today.

The late-night attack yesterday took place near the city of Tikrit, 175 km ( north of Baghdad.

In a separate attack yesterday, four police officers were killed when gunmen ambushed a convoy of unarmed police recruits travelling to Tikrit after a training course in the Kurdish city of Sulaimaniya.

Minority Sunni Arab rebels fighting the Shi'ite-led government have carried out killings Iraqi security forces before, highlighting weaknesses in the new, US-trained forces.

Reuters