Unknown gunmen killed 19 civilians on Sunday when they forced minibuses to stop on a highway northeast of Baghdad and shot at the passengers, a source from the U.S.-Iraqi liaison office in Diyala province told Xinhua.

Unknown armed men stopped minibuses carrying people on a highway near the Ayn Layla area, northeast of Baquba, some 65 km northeast of Baghdad, and opened fire at the civilians on board, said the source from the Joint Coordination Center of Diyala, where Ayn Layla is located.

The source also said that two Iraqi civilians were wounded in the attack and that seven minibus drivers were among the dead.

Violence and reprisal sectarian attacks have persisted in Iraq despite the formation of a new national unity government on May 20.

Source: Xinhua