Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq

    SAMARRA, Iraq, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- Unknown gunmen stormed two security checkpoints outside the Iraqi City of Samarra early on Saturday, killing ten security members and wounding nine others, provincial police source said.

    A group of gunmen attacked a police checkpoint on the northern entrance of Samarra city, killing six policemen and wounding six others, said a police source from the Salahudin province where the city located.

    Meanwhile, another group of armed men attacked an Iraqi army checkpoint on the southern entrance of the city and traded fire with the soldiers, killing four soldiers and wounding three others, the source added.

    Three gunmen were also killed in the two attacks, according to the source.

    The city authorities have imposed curfew on the city while hundreds of soldiers and policemen deployed in and around the city searching for the attackers who fled the scenes, he added.