Iraqi official: Gunmen kill 14 security troops in attack at Ramadan mealtime

BAGHDAD – An Iraqi official says gunmen have killed 14 Iraqi security troops in the country’s west in an attack that coincided with the breaking of the fast on the first day of Ramadan.

The official says the attack took place on Thursday evening when gunmen first overran an army checkpoint near the town of Barwana. The town is about 220 kilometres (140 miles) northwest of Baghdad.

The attackers then shot up a trailer used by special oil industry police force protecting a nearby pipeline as the men were sitting down to have the iftar meal that breaks the daytime Ramadan fast at sunset.

Barwana mayor Meyasser Abdul-Mohsin says three soldiers died at the checkpoint and 11 troops at the trailer.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.