Five policemen killed in Iraq attack

Five Iraqi policemen have been killed in an insurgent attack on their checkpoint in the western half of the country, officials said today.

A spokesman said the assault happened in the town of Rutba, in Anbar province, as the officers were guarding the road which links Iraq to neighbouring Jordan.

A doctor in a nearby hospital confirmed the death toll.

Anbar province was a former al-Qaida in Iraq stronghold and the birthplace of the pro-government Sunni militia which fought al-Qaida.

The attack came two days after gunmen stormed a government compound and killed seven policemen in the provincial capital of Ramadi.