Militants 'kill 20 Iraqi soldiers' in attack near Mosul
Al-Huriya News Agency - Militants have killed 20 Iraqi soldiers in an attack on a base near the northern city of Mosul, officials say.
Many of the soldiers had been shot at close range. Some of the dead had their hands tied behind their backs, a medical worker told the AP news agency. Insurgents in Sunni-dominated parts of northern and western Iraq have been fighting security forces under the command of the Shia-led government.
Violence has peaked again since the sectarian conflict of the last decade.
The UN says more than 8,000 people were killed in Iraq last year, the highest figure since 2007. The government has blamed the rising bloodshed on Sunni militants, linking it to the conflict in neighbouring Syria.
But many analysts and diplomats say the government, led by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, has contributed to the unrest by alienating the Sunni minority. Iraq held a parliamentary election earlier this month. The result has not yet been announced.
