Gunmen kill 5 Kurdish soldiers in Iraq

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Gunmen killed five Kurdish soldiers from Iraq's northern autonomous region of Kurdistan as they traveled to Baghdad to join a four-month-old security crackdown in the capital, an official said on Tuesday.

Jabar Yawir, spokesman for the Kurdish Peshmerga militia, said 15 Kurdish soldiers were wounded in the attack on Monday, which took place near the town of Tuz Khurmato.

Kurdish soldiers in Iraq's army are drawn largely from Kurdish Peshmerga militias. Several Kurdish brigades have taken part in the Baghdad offensive and the soldiers attacked were on their way to replace units that are rotating out.

It was unclear if they were in a large convoy at the time of the attack. Militants frequently target Iraq's security forces.