Iraqi police say a suicide bomber drove a truck into a checkpoint Monday in a town north of Baghdad, killing at least nine people.
Police say the victims were members of a neighborhood patrol (known as Awakening Councils,) set up to oppose al-Qaida militants. Two other people were reported missing and believed to be dead.
The attack comes just days after the release of a new Internet message purportedly by al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.
He warned Iraqis not to take up arms against his movement or to support the unity government.
In a separate incident today, authorities said at least two Iraqi soldiers were killed and two others wounded when a roadside bomb struck their patrol near the Iranian border in Diyala province.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
