BAGHDAD, June 22 (Reuters) - U.S. attack helicopters killed 17 suspected al Qaeda gunmen on the outskirts of the town of Khalis near Baquba in Iraq's volatile Diyala province early on Friday, the U.S. military said.

The military said in an email to Reuters that those killed had been moving around an Iraqi police patrol. U.S. ground forces taking part in a large offensive in Diyala confirmed that the 17 killed were all armed.

It said there were no civilian casualties.

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