Gunmen kill 10 Iraqi soldiers in 2 attacks

BAGHDAD: Gunmen killed 10 people in Iraq, including five soldiers near the main Sunni protest camp west of Baghdad.
The attack on the army intelligence soldiers in the former insurgent stronghold of Ramadi drew a quick response from Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki.
The attackers stopped a vehicle carrying the soldiers near the protest camp, prompting a gunbattle that left the five soldiers dead and two of the attackers wounded, police officials said.
In another attack, gunmen opened fire on a checkpoint manned by government-allied troops, killing five of them, near the city of Tikrit, 130 km north of Baghdad.
The militiamen, known as Sahwa, are among those who joined forces with US troops to fight Al-Qaeda during the Iraq war.
Al-Maliki vowed his government would not keep silent regarding the killing of the soldiers.
“I call upon the peaceful protesters to expel the criminals targeting military and police,” Al-Maliki said.