MOSUL, Iraq, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Gunmen shot dead eight men when they ambushed their vehicle northwest of Mosul, Iraq's third-largest city, and raked it with machinegun fire, police said on Sunday.

Police said Saturday's ambush took place on the main road between the towns of Sinjar and Rabiyaa. The men had been returning home after registering at a border guard recruitment centre in Sinjar.

It appeared they were deliberately targeted by gunmen who may have been watching them in Sinjar and then followed them out of town, police said.

Insurgents frequently attack Iraqi security forces and recruitment centres. Continuing sectarian strife and an unrelenting Sunni insurgency has claimed the lives of thousands of Iraqi soldiers and policemen.

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