Gunmen Kill Four Iraqi Soldiers

Gunmen shot dead four Iraqi soldiers on Thursday, security and medical officials said, the latest attacks in a wave of violence that has killed more than 410 people so far this month.

The gunmen attacked a checkpoint in Taji, north of Baghdad, killing the soldiers and wounding five others, the officials said.

And in Tikrit, also north of the capital, a roadside bomb exploded near a police patrol, wounding two policemen, an officer and a medical source said.

Thursday's attacks come a day after 22 people were killed in violence, among them 12 people shot dead at a Baghdad brothel and eight militants killed by security forces.

Violence in Iraq is down from its peak in 2006 and 2007, but attacks remain common. More than 200 people have been killed in each of the first five months of this year.