Five killed in Iraq violence

Five people, including two soldiers, have been killed in attacks in northern Iraq, security officials said Friday. Insurgents attacked an army checkpoint in the northern city of Mosul, sparking a gunbattle in which one soldier and three gunmen were killed, a security official told broadcaster Alsumariya News. A soldier was killed and two injured in a shelling attack on an army checkpoint in the town of Baiji, around 200 kilometres north of Baghdad.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Malikia has vowed to crack down on militias after a rise in attacks on security forces and state institutions. Iraq has witnessed near-daily violence since US troops withdrew in December 2011. The United Nations said April was the deadliest month in Iraq since June 2008, with more than 700 people killed and 1,600 wounded.