Gunmen attacked a checkpoint south of Baghdad on Thursday, killing five members of the security forces and stealing their weapons, security and medical officials said.

The attack on the checkpoint manned by the Facilities Protection Service, an interior ministry force tasked with securing government buildings, took place in the Jurf al-Nadaf area on the way to the town of Madain, an interior ministry official said.

A medical source at Al-Kindi hospital in Baghdad confirmed the toll.

Violence in Iraq has decreased dramatically from its peak in 2006 and 2007, when brutal sectarian violence swept the country, but attacks remain common.