Iraqi civilians gunned down at Ramadi checkpoint

Police said seven died on Saturday, the military said three.

"The driver ignored verbal warning and several warning shots," the military said in a statement.

"As US marines in the vicinity of the checkpoint attempted to disable the van, the van accelerated toward the marines. The marines then fired upon the vehicle to protect themselves and the integrity of the checkpoint."

Ramadi police chief Brigadier Jasim al-Dulaimi said seven died in the shooting near the central governorate building where US troops are positioned.

Reuters Television footage showed the bus peppered with bullet holes. Some of the windows were shattered and others spattered with blood.

Flies buzzed around corpses in the vehicle, as men carried away bodies and loaded them into cars.

Police killed

Also in Ramadi armed men ambushed a convoy of Iraqi National Guards on Sunday, killing nine soldiers and wounding 17, local hospital officials said.

The rocket-wielding fighters ordered the guards from their vehicles and then gunned them down after holding them up on a main street in broad daylight and forcing them to drive to the outskirts of the city, wounded survivors told reporters.

The attackers then torched the guards' two trucks.

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