BAQUBA, Sept 24: Gunmen ambushed and killed 12 policemen and eight anti-Al Qaeda fighters in Diyala province north of Baghdad on Wednesday as rebel violence continued despite a security force crackdown.

The gunmen struck at around 3:30 pm (1230 GMT) in the village of Al-Dulaimat in Diyala of which Baquba is the capital, a security official said.

He said the policemen and the anti-Al Qaeda fighters had gathered in the village when they were ambushed by the gunmen.

Doctor Ahmed Fuad of Baquba hospital confirmed it had received 20 dead.

“The bodies are riddled with bullets,” he said.

The security official said the area surrounding the village is a longstanding Al-Qaeda stronghold.

He said the slain policemen included three officers — a colonel, a lieutenant colonel and a captain.

The ambush took place as the police detachment deployed to the village to take part in a raid against Al Qaeda militants alongside the allied fighters of the Sahwa, or Awakening, Council.—AFP