11 policemen killed in Baghdad ambush

At least 11 Iraqi policemen were killed after being caught in an ambush in eastern Baghdad today.

Fighting erupted in the Iraqi capital’s Rashad district as Iraqi police fired on insurgents who were handing out leaflets warning people not to vote in Sunday’s national elections.

Armed men lured police into a trap with a decoy car bomb and then opened fire, killing seven of the officers, according to policeman Khazim Hussein.

A bomb also blew off the gate of a secondary school and gunmen opened fire on Iraqi and US forces responding to the blast. A witnesses said two Iraqi policemen and an insurgent were killed.

Officials have warned of a surge in violence in the run-up to Sunday’s national elections.