12 killed in militant attack near Tikrit, Iraq

Iraq: At leas twelve people have been killed and 23 others wounded after militants attacked a police check point north of Tikrit and detonated a car bomb at the entrance to the city on Saturday.

No group has claim responsibility for the attack at the time of the report.

The attack was the first of its kind since the city, 150km north of Baghdad, was retaken from Islamic State in April 2015.

According to police and sources from Salahuddin Operations Command, which is responsible for security in the area, one militant was killed at the checkpoint after shooting dead four police officers in the attack at around 5am.

The sources also said two other militants continued about 7km to the city limits and detonated their explosives in their pick-up truck, killing eight people and wounding 23 people.

Security in Tikrit were tightened by the police after the attacks.

The Iraqi military this week retook the district of Shirqat, which is 100km north of Tikrit, from Islamic State as they prepare for a move on the northern city of Mosul later in the year.