Gunmen kill at least nine policemen in Baghdad
(AP)
Updated: 2005-08-09 15:27

In a string of near simultaneous attacks across the capital, gunmen attacked and killed nine policemen in Baghdad Tuesday, police said, AP reported.

Assailants opened fire on a police patrol Tuesday in eastern Baghdad, killing five policemen, police said. The policemen had been asleep in their vehicle when two carloads of gunmen fired on them around 8 a.m. in the eastern New Baghdad neighborhood of the capital, said Lt. Col. Ahmed Aboud.

The men had spent the night on patrol and fell asleep as they were waiting to be replaced by another patrol, he said. Their weapons were all in the backseat of their four-wheel drive, he said.

In another attack in the southern Dora neighborhood, armed gunmen assassinated police Capt. Haidir Mizhir Salih and another policeman as they were heading to work around 8 a.m., said 1st Lt. Mohammed Hanoun.

In a third drive-by shooting, unknown assailants fired on a police car at 8:15 am, killing two officers and wounding their driver, said Lt. Col. Guad Assad. The attack occurred in the eastern Zayouna neighborhood, he said.

Insurgents have frequently targeted Iraqi security forces in their bid to further destabilize the country.

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