Twenty-seven policemen were killed Monday in a series of attacks carried out by gunmen wearing military uniforms in Haditha city in Iraq's western province of Anbar.
The attack took place at about 2 a.m. when many gunmen attacked the house of Colonel Mohammed Hussein, an ex-commander of a rapid reaction police force, and dragged him out his house in Haditha, some 200 km west of Baghdad, a source said.
The gunmen then attacked a police checkpoint close to his house before they broke into the house of Captain Khalid Hammad, a police officer who was killed immediately, the interior ministry source told Xinhua.
The attackers then shot dead Colonel Hussein before they attacked another police checkpoint in the city and traded heavy fire with them.
The clashes resulted in the killing of 27 policemen, including the two officers, and wounding three policemen. Three of the attackers were also killed by the clashes.