The Iraqi army said Monday that its troops killed 17 insurgents, including two Arab nationals, near the city of Mosul in northern Iraq.

"Earlier in the day, an Iraqi army force fought with militiamen, who are believed to be linked to al-Qaida in Iraq network in the Badoush area west of Mosul," Brigadier Muta' al-Khazraji, commander of the 2nd Iraqi Army Division, told Xinhua.

Khazraji claimed that there were a Syrian and Saudi nationals among the 17 killed in the clashes.

The soldiers conducted controlled detonations for two booby- trapped cars and defused three more, he said.

Khazraji refused to say whether there was any casualty among his soldiers during the clashes.

Separately, gunmen killed a police colonel along with his driver when they attacked his car in Mosul's eastern neighborhood of Ta'mim, local police source said.

Mosul, capital city of Nineveh province is some 400 km north of Baghdad.

Source: Xinhua