Gunmen kill 5 Kurdish soldiers in Iraq

BAGHDAD, June 19 (Reuters) Gunmen killed five Kurdish soldiers from Iraq's northern autonomous region of Kurdistan as they travelled to Baghdad to join a four-month-old security crackdown in the capital, an official said today.

Jabar Yawir, spokesman for the Kurdish Peshmerga militia, said 15 Kurdish soldiers were wounded in the attack yesterday, which took place near the town of Tuz Khurmato.

Kurdish soldiers in Iraq's army are drawn largely from Kurdish Peshmerga militias. Several Kurdish brigades have taken part in the Baghdad offensive and the soldiers attacked were on their way to replace units that are rotating out.

It was unclear if they were in a large convoy at the time of the attack. Militants frequently target Iraq's security forces.

REUTERS RJ DS1405