Nine Iraqi soldiers were killed early on Monday when insurgents attacked a military checkpoint on the entrance of Khalis town, police said.

"Unknown armed men attacked an Iraqi army checkpoint at al- Mustafa Square in Khalis town at about 5:00 a.m. (0100 GMT), killing nine soldiers," a police source from the US and Iraq Joint Coordination Center of Dayala province told Xinhua.

Five minutes later, a car bomb blew up at the same checkpoint after other Iraqi troops reached the area, wounding two soldiers and three civilians, said the source who refused to be named.

Dayala province, which includes Khalis town, is located some 70 km northeast of Baghdad. It has been a hotbed of insurgency against the US and Iraqi troops since the US-led invasion in 2003.

Source: Xinhua