Up to nine Iraqi soldiers were killed Thursday during an attack targeting a checkpoint in Tikrit. A security source in the ministry of interior said that about 20 armed men attacked a checkpoint for the Iraqi army in al-dour village in south Tikrit, killing nine soldiers, including three officers. The police in Tikrit said that eleven security personnel were killed during the attack; four officers and nine soldiers, and four army vehicles were also damaged.Furthermore, four Iraqi police officers were killed and eight others injured on Wednesday in an ambush against a police convoy near Hamrein Mountains on its way to Tikrit. Another 16 policemen were also kidnapped and were taken to an undisclosed location before they were set free earlier today after the joint forces carried out an operation chasing the perpetrators, according to the interior ministry. In Baqouba, three civilians were also killed yesterday and a 12 year old boy was kidnapped in two separate incidents yesterday.