Insurgents kidnapped 11 Iraqi army soldiers on Saturday in a town some 100 km north of Baghdad, an official from a joint U.S. and Iraqi police center told Xinhua.

The soldiers were traveling in a bus from the northern city of Kirkuk to Baghdad when they were stopped at a fake checkpoint manned by insurgents in the town of Udhaim, 40 km north of Baquba, the official said on condition of anonymity.

Though the soldiers were wearing civilian clothes, they were abducted after their military ID cards were found, the source said.

Baquba, 60 km northeast of Baghdad, has seen relentless sectarian bloodshed in recent months. On Thursday, 24 policemen were killed in an insurgent ambush near Baquba.

Source: Xinhua