Three policemen killed in car bomb blast

A car bomb exploded near police and government buildings in the western Iraqi city of Haditha today, killing three police officers.

The attack appeared to target the main police station, said Colonel Adnan Abdel-Rahman, spokesman of the Interior Ministry.

There were no further details on the attack in the city, 120 miles west of the capital and known as a stronghold of Saddam Hussein’s ousted regime.

A second car bomb exploded three miles west of Karbala, killing two people in the car, said Rahman Mshawi, a spokesman for the Karbala police.

Police chased the car after receiving a tip it was filled with explosives.

“Finding themselves surrounded, the two persons inside detonated the car while they were inside,” Mshawi said.

Authorities said no one else was hurt, but that the blast damaged electrical power lines in the region.