Five gunmen, four security personnel killed in northern Iraq

23 February 2013, 15:20 (GMT+04:00)

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A total of nine people were killed Saturday during clashes and in a blast in northern Iraq, where an alleged senior member of al-Qaeda was arrested, police said, reported dpa.

Five gunmen were killed during an exchange with police forces in Mosul city, which is located 400 kilometres north of Baghdad. The clashes erupted after gunmen began attacking the security checkpoint with grenades.

In western Mosul, two policemen were shot dead by an armed group while a roadside bomb killed two soldiers.

The incidents took place as troops arrested an alleged senior member of al-Qaeda in Mosul, home to one of the most diverse mix of ethnic and religious groups in the country.

Iraq has witnessed near-daily attacks since US troops withdrew in December 2011, raising fears of a return to the sectarian tensions that drove the country close to civil war in 2006 and 2007.