Baghdad, July 11, SPA -- Insurgents killed nine Iraqi soldiers Monday in a town north of Baghdad _ seven of them in anarmed assault on a checkpoint and two others in a carbombing more than an hour later, Iraqi officials said. The attacks came a day after a surge in violence _including suicide bombings and ambushes _ killed nearly 60people across the country, shattering a relative lull forthe previous week. Monday's first attack occurred about 5 a.m. (0100 gmt)when gunmen firing mortars, machine guns and semiautomaticweapons stormed a checkpoint in Khalis, about 70 kilometers(45 miles) northeast of Baghdad, Col. Abdullah al-Shimmarisaid. Seven soldiers were killed. Three people, including one civilian, were injured in thatattack. At 6:30 a.m. (0230 gmt), a car bomb parked alongside aroad exploded as an Iraqi army patrol passed, killing twosoldiers and wounding another, al-Shimmari was quoted as saying by The Associated Press.--SPA1104 Local Time 0804 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/276015