Dozens of militants set up a roadblock on a highway north of Baghdad early Thursday, stopped trucks, checked IDs and then summarily executed 14 drivers, in latest sectarian violence in the capital.

Dozens of militants set up a roadblock on a highway north of Baghdad early Thursday, stopped trucks, checked IDs and then summarily executed 14 drivers, in latest sectarian violence in the capital.

Two local officials said some 150 militants carried out a coordinated operation during the night that included the highway killings, in the area of Sulaiman Bek, a town north of Baghdad.

The militants began by attacking the town itself with mortar rounds, rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons late on Wednesday.

That attack drew security forces away from the highway connecting Baghdad with north Iraq, after which a group of around 40 extremists broke off and set up the checkpoint.

They only maintained it for about half an hour but were able to stop dozens of truck drivers, killing 14 execution-style who were Shiites.

"These criminals belong to what is called the Islamic State of Iraq, and they targeted Shiite drivers and left the Sunnis," local official Shalal Abdul Baban told AFP, referring to an Al-Qaeda front group.
"It was killing by ID," he said.