BAGHDAD, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Gunmen posing as Iraqi security forces kidnapped 14 members of one family in the volatile Diyala province north of Baghdad on Monday, police said.

They said the gunmen stopped a minibus carrying the 14 at a fake checkpoint near the town of Muqdadiya, 90 km (55 miles) northeast of the capital. Those kidnapped included women and children, police said.

Violence has declined sharply in Iraq in recent months, but U.S. and Iraqi officials warn that Sunni Arab al Qaeda fighters have regrouped in areas like Diyala after being pushed out of Baghdad and western Anbar province by U.S. and Iraqi forces. (Writing by Alaa Shahine; editing by Ralph Boulton)

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