Gunmen storm Iraqi government compound

Iraqi security forces today battled gunmen who detonated a car bomb before blasting their way into a government compound and killing seven policemen.

The three-hour stand-off between Shiite-dominated security forces and suspected Sunni insurgents in the Anbar province capital of Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad, marked the first serious gun battle for Iraqi forces against insurgents without American back-up since the US military completed its withdrawal last month.