TIKRIT, Sept. 2 (Xinhuanet) -- Five Iraqi soldiers were killed and nine others wounded Friday morning when a roadside bomb hit their vehicle in the northern Iraqi town Baiji, a security source told Xinhua.

    "A roadside bomb detonated at about 10:00 a.m. (0600 GMT) and struck an Iraqi military convoy as it was heading to Mosul through the highway near Baiji," a source from Tikrit US-Iraqi liaison office told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

    The soldiers of the convoy opened fire at pedestrians on the attack site which is on the edge of Baiji, some 200 km north of Baghdad, the source said.

    The source added that there were casualties among civilians but could not provide the speicific number.

    Insurgents frequently attack US and Iraqi security forces in an attempt to cripple the Shiite-dominated government formed in late April. Enditem