By Xinhua,
Tikrit, Iraq : Iraqi security forces fought 14 suspected al-Qaida militants in Salahudin province on Thursday, killing all of them, a provincial police source said.
Fourteen gunmen opened fire on police vehicles patrolling a highway near the town of Awja, Saddam Hussein’s hometown south of the city capital of Tikrit, 170 km north of Baghdad, prompting the police force to fire back, killing all the gunmen who believed to be al-Qaida militants, Major Ahmed al-Fahal told Xinhua.
One of the gunmen wearing an explosive-vest, tried to approach the police vehicles but heavy fire blew him up away from the police vehicles, Fahal said.
Two policemen were injured by the blast of the suicide bomber, he said.
Iraqi security forces blocked the main road and sealed off the scene to evacuate the casualties, he added.