Updated

Officials say a twin suicide attack targeting soldiers and anti-al-Qaida militiamen in central Iraq has killed 12 people.

A police officer says the first attacker detonated his explosives-laden belt late Tuesday among a group of soldiers and Sahwa militiamen gathered in the orchard of a local militia leader in the town of Tarmiyah.

A second suicide bomber blew himself up at the gate of the compound as people tried to flee from the first explosion.

The officer says nine troops, including a brigade commander, and three militiamen were killed, and 23 were wounded. Tarmiyah, a former insurgent stronghold, is about 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of Baghdad.

A medical official confirmed the causality figures. Both spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to talk to media.