Seven police officers killed by roadside bomb

At least seven police officers were killed when a roadside bomb exploded near a patrol in a Shiite area south of Baghdad today.

The attack occurred before dawn just east of Diwaniyah, 80 miles south of Baghdad, when a three-vehicle police convoy was struck by a roadside bomb.

Authorities said seven policemen, including the patrol leader, were killed.

The area around Diwaniyah has been a recent hotspot for clashes among rival Shiite groups and violence against US-led forces.

Suspected militia fighters fired mortars at two military bases and shot at a Polish helicopter south of Baghdad on Monday, prompting a gunbattle that left five Iraqi civilians dead and scores wounded, including two Polish soldiers.

Also today, a suicide bomber driving an explosive-laden truck struck a checkpoint manned by Kurdish forces in a mountainous area near the Iranian border, killing at least one Kurdish soldier and wounding more than 10 others.

The casualties were part of a brigade that arrived in the region last month as part of a US-Iraqi security crackdown that began in February.

Nobody claimed responsibility for the attack, but the suicide bombing bore the hallmarks of al Qaida in Iraq, which has staged several attacks recently after promising an offensive to coincide with the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which ended earlier this week.

US troops captured 15 suspected militants in operations targeting al Qaida in Tikrit, Ramadi, Baqouba and Mosul today.

Those captured were accused of helping to smuggle foreign fighters and weapons into Iraq, including five with alleged connections to Syrian-based extremists.

In other violence, a bomb exploded near a residential building in the predominantly Shiite neighbourhood of Zafaraniyah, killing two civilians and wounding two others.

Gunmen also kidnapped four shepherds, including a 15-year-old boy, south of Baghdad.