BAGHDAD, March 17: At least 350 Iraqi civilians needed hospital treatment after insurgents detonated three trucks filled with toxic chlorine gas, killing two policemen, the US military said on Saturday.

The attacks were carried out between 4:11pm and 7:13pm on Friday, two of them just south of the town of Fallujah and one northeast of the nearby city of Ramadi, both hotbeds of Al Qaeda militants in the Anbar province.

“Approximately 350 Iraqi civilians and six coalition force members were treated for chlorine gas exposure,” said Lieutenant Roger Hollenbeck of the US-led Multinational Division West, based in Ramadi.

Iraqi state television reported that at least six people were killed in the blasts.—AFP