Authorities in Iraq say at least eight members of the security forces have been killed in separate attacks.
Police say the first attack took place near the northern city of Tikrit, when gunmen opened fire on a checkpoint operated by the pro-government Sahwa militia, which targets Al-Qaeda fighters.
Five Sahwa guards were killed in the attack.
In a separate incident, three army intelligence soldiers were killed in a battle with gunmen near a protest site in Ramadi.
The French news agency AFP also cites police and hospital officials as saying a fourth soldier was killed in another skirmish in the same area.
The incidents come amid a wave of violence that has left 200 people dead in the wake of police clashes with protesters in the Sunni Arab town of Hawijah.
Police say the first attack took place near the northern city of Tikrit, when gunmen opened fire on a checkpoint operated by the pro-government Sahwa militia, which targets Al-Qaeda fighters.
Five Sahwa guards were killed in the attack.
In a separate incident, three army intelligence soldiers were killed in a battle with gunmen near a protest site in Ramadi.
The French news agency AFP also cites police and hospital officials as saying a fourth soldier was killed in another skirmish in the same area.
The incidents come amid a wave of violence that has left 200 people dead in the wake of police clashes with protesters in the Sunni Arab town of Hawijah.
