Insurgents killed in Iraq clashes

Fighting erupted after a suicide bomber targeted a police recruitment centre

At least 14 suspected Sunni insurgents have been killed in a clash with US-backed Sunni militiamen in Tikrit, north of Baghdad, Iraqi police say.

The fighting reportedly broke out after the insurgents emerged from a container vehicle at a checkpoint.

Earlier, at least 16 people were killed in a suicide bomb attack at a police recruitment centre in the northern town of Sinjar, west of Mosul.

The area is home to many members of Iraq's Yazidi minority.

In August last year some 400 people were killed there in multiple bomb attacks targeting the Yazidis.

Two policemen were among those killed by the suicide attacker. The other victims were in the process of being recruited into the force.

Mosul is considered by American and Iraqi military officials to be the last urban stronghold of al-Qaeda in Iraq.

Iraqi and US forces have been conducting a major crackdown against Sunni insurgents in the area since mid-May.