Militants shot dead 14 members of the Iraqi security forces, including 11 who guard oil pipelines, in an attack in the northwest on Thursday, according to security sources.

Militants shot dead 14 members of the Iraqi security forces, including 11 who guard oil pipelines, in an attack in the northwest on Thursday, according to security sources.

The attack took place on a road between Haditha and Baiji, some 200 kilometres (120 miles) north of Baghdad.

The toll includes 11 militiamen charged with protecting the country's vital oil infrastructure, said Lieutenant Colonel Majed Salah al-Nemrawi and Dr Omar Adel.

Three soldiers were also killed by the anonymous assailants who carried out the attack.

In the capital itself, a large explosion was heard in the evening, according to Agence France Presse.