Iraqi police officers killed in drive-by shooting

Gunmen killed two new Iraqi Army officers in a drive-by shooting early today in Baqouba, said an Interior Ministry spokesman.

Col. Adnan Abdul Rahman said the pair were shot as they were driving to work at about 4.30am Irish time. He gave no further details.

The assailants pulled up alongside the two men, identified as Brig. Nadim al-Rawi and Col. Nadhim Flayih al-Rawi, in a white Honda and opened fire, said an official at the Diyala province police command.

The two men had served in the Iraqi army during Saddam’s regime, the official said.

Yesterday, a police captain was also killed in a drive-by shooting in Baqouba, 35 miles north-east of Baghdad.

Insurgents regularly target Iraq’s security forces, which are seen as collaborators with the United States and its allies.