Seven killed north of Baghdad, security forces targeted

Seven security force members died Tuesday in gun attacks north of Baghdad, according to Agence France Presse.

In the city of Baquba, north of the capital, five solders and one anti-Qaeda Sahwa militaman was killed by gunmen at a checkpoint.

A police intelligence officer was also kidnapped and killed in Kirkuk, according to security and medical sources.

Two policeman and a Sahwa fighter were previously killed his week by gunmen in Samarra.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks, according to AFP, but Sunni militants have often led attacks against what they consider "traitor" Sahwa militamen due to the latter's cooperation with the United States military against Al Qaeda.

Unrest in Iraq has already killed 850 people this month alone, as one of the bloodiest periods of Iraq's recent history continues.