Iraqi Sunni fighter, 2 sons killed in attack

A local commander of a Sunni Arab militia in Iraq and his two sons were killed in an attack near Baghdad on Friday, police said.Unidentified gunmen attacked the house of Hassan Musleh, a commander of the Awakening Council group, in Alabegi area, about 60 km north of Baghdad, killing him and two of his sons, a local police source said.Musleh's third son exchanged fire with the gunmen and managed to kill two of them, while the rest of the attackers fled to an unknown destination, he added.The Awakening Council group, also known as Sons of Iraq movement or Sahwa, consists of Sunni Arab militia who fought against al-Qaida from late 2006 after their leaders became dismayed by al-Qaida's brutality and religious zealotry in the country.Other unidentified gunmen also attacked a checkpoint of the Awakening Council forces in Buhriz, 10 km south of Baquba, some 50 km northeast of Baghdad, killing one member of the Sunni militia and wounding another seriously, the police source said.Separately, one civilian was killed when a roadside bomb struck his car as it passed Ishaqi area, about 70 km south of Tikrit, a city located 140 km northwest of Baghdad, he said.Violence is still common in war-torn Iraq despite the dramatic decrease since its peak in 2006 and 2007 when the country was engulfed in sectarian killings.