Baghdad clashes claim 11 cops
2005-01-25 12:57
Baghdad - At least 11 Iraqi policemen were killed in fierce clashes on Tuesday in eastern Baghdad, a hospital official said.
Fighting erupted in Baghdad's eastern Rashad neighbourhood 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 United States forces responding to the blast. A witness said two Iraqi policemen and an insurgent were killed.
An official at Kindi Hospital said 11 policemen were killed altogether in the fighting.
Officials have warned of a surge in violence in the run-up to Sunday's national elections. - AP
- SAPA