Roadside bomb kills 7 in Samarra: Iraq police

Samarra, Iraq, June 27: A roadside bomb today killed seven people including five police commandos in central Samarra Iraqi police said, and two more civilians were killed in the aftermath of the blast when security forces opened fire.

Police Captain Ali Mohammed Ali said the attack targeted the police patrol. He said two policemen had been wounded in the blast and two civilians had been hurt by the subsequent police shooting.

The blast in Samarra, 100 km (62 miles) north of Baghdad, comes despite heightened security in that city after suspected al Qaeda militants blew up the twin minarets of a Shi'ite mosque there earlier this month.

Reuters>