BAGHDAD, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Nine policemen were killed in an attack by suspected al Qaeda gunmen on a checkpoint outside a town in Iraq's volatile Diyala province on Thursday, police said.

Another seven were wounded in the attack outside Qarah Tappah, 130 km (80 miles) north of the capital Baghdad. The gunmen attacked the checkpoint using two vehicles but few other details were immediately available.

Al Qaeda and other Sunni Islamist insurgents have moved into Diyala and other areas north of Baghdad after being driven out of western Anbar province and many areas of the capital during a security crackdown this year. (Baghdad newsroom; editing by Sami Aboudi)

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