Gunmen Kill 10 Iraqi Soldiers, Militia Allies

Gunmen killed 10 Iraqi soldiers and Shiite allied militiamen in two separate attacks on Saturday in Diyala province northeast of the capital Baghdad, a military source said.

In the first attack, five soldiers were killed and 15 wounded when gunmen assaulted a military checkpoint north of the provincial capital of Baquba, the source said.

Elsewhere north of Baquba, five members of a Shiite militia allied to the army were killed when gunmen attacked one of their positions.

Ten more were wounded in that incident.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks which come as the Iraqi forces and their allies fight the Islamic State group and other Sunni militants who have swept through much of northern and western Iraq.

Baquba is a Shiite-dominated city surrounded by many Sunni villages.

It is under the control of the Iraqi army and their Shiite allies and lies east of three roads converging on Baghdad. Holding Baquba is considered vital to defending the capital.