BAGHDAD — Iraqi security officials say gunmen have killed four anti-al-Qaida fighters in an attack on a security checkpoint in an eastern province.
Police in Diyala say that the attackers opened fire early Friday on members of the Sahwa or Awakening group manning a checkpoint near the provincial capital of Baqouba, 60 kilometers (35 miles) northeast of Baghdad.
A hospital medic said that five other members of the movement were wounded in the attack.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.
The Sahwa are Sunni Arabs who joined forces with the U.S. military to fight al-Qaida at the height of Iraq’s insurgency.
June has been Iraq’s bloodiest month in almost a half a year with more than 200 Iraqis killed in attacks.
