BAGHDAD, June 15 (Xinhua) -- A security personnel was killed and six others wounded on Friday in a militant attack on a security checkpoint in central Iraq on the first day of Eid al-Fitr festival, a police source said.
Early in the morning, a group of gunmen with machine guns attacked a joint army and police checkpoint in Tarmiyah area, some 30 km north of the capital Baghdad, killing a soldier and injuring four others and two policemen, Ahmed Abdullah from the Baghdad police told Xinhua.
The gunmen fled the scene before the arrival of reinforcements, Abdullah said, adding that an investigation was launched, while a search operation is being conducted in the area for the attackers.
The attack came on the first day of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, just after Iraqi authorities announced plans to tighten security during the three-day festival.
The plans included deploying security forces in heavily populated areas in markets and around mosques, as well as expanding checkpoints.
