Six men killed while swimming in Iraq

Gunmen have killed six young Arab men as they were swimming in a predominantly Turkmen town in north Iraq, security and medical officials say.

"The six martyrs were Arab residents from Amerli," said Colonel Khalid Hassan al-Bayati, police chief of Tuz Khurmatu, 175 kilometres north of Baghdad, on Saturday.

Amerli lies just outside Tuz Khurmatu, which is mostly populated by Shiite Turkmen.

"This is a terrorist act, not a criminal act. Two gunmen attacked them while they were swimming," Bayati said.

Anoher senior local policeman said the attackers were riding motorcycles as they fired.

A doctor in the town's hospital confirmed receiving the six bodies, adding that all had suffered multiple gunshot wounds.

The latest violence brings the number of people killed in attacks in Iraq so far this month to at least 113, including 57 security forces members, according to a tally based on security and medical sources.