Sunni chiefs killed in Iraq blast

Sheikh Abu Risha, a key US ally in Anbar, was killed in September

Five Sunni Arab tribal leaders have been killed in a suicide attack in Iraq's Diyala province, police say.
A suicide bomber detonated his explosives belt in the house of Sheikh Faez al-Obeidi, killing him and four of his relatives.

Those killed were members of the Diyala Salvation Council, a group opposed to the presence of al-Qaeda militants in the province, north-east of Baghdad.

Ten others were wounded in the blast, which happened near the town of Khalis.

Diyala province, home to a mixture of Sunnis and Shias, has become a key battleground in the struggle to drive al-Qaeda from Iraq.

Until a few months ago, al-Qaeda in Iraq and other Sunni Arab insurgent groups in the province fought together against Iraqi government and US-led forces.