Iraqi policemen killed in ambush

Nine Iraqi policemen returning from a training course in Jordan were ambushed and killed on their way home to Karbala, police said today.

The bus they were travelling in was attacked yesterday in the insurgent hotbed of Latifiyah, 25 miles south of Baghdad, said Karbala police spokesman Abdul-Rahman Mishawi.

He said the attackers escaped the scene and investigations are under way.

Insurgents have repeatedly attacked Iraqi security forces in an attempt to destabilise and hamper reconstruction.

Hundreds of police have been killed by mortars, roadside bombs and car bombers in recent months.