Seven Iraqi police officers were killed when their vehicle was hit by a powerful roadside bomb south of Baghdad overnight.
Police said the ambush happened east of the city of Diwaniya, 180 km (110 miles) south of Baghdad, just after midnight.
The policemen had been rushing to reinforce a police station in the town of Ifach that was under attack by gunmen armed with machineguns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers. No police officers were wounded in that attack.
Iraqi security forces are frequently attacked in the Diwaniya area, where the Mehdi Army militia of Moqtada al-Sadr has a strong presence.
