Ten Iraqi policemen have killed when gunmen carried out a surprise attack on a security checkpoint in the western province of Anbar

Ten Iraqi policemen have killed when gunmen carried out a surprise attack on a security checkpoint in the western province of Anbar.

An Iraqi police source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that unidentified assailants armed with various kinds of weapons clashed with police forces in the town of Rawa, situated 260 kilometers (about 160 miles) northwest of the capital, Baghdad, on Sunday. Ten policemen were killed in the attack.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but al-Qaeda-linked militants have previously targeted Iraqi security forces in an attempt to destabilize the Baghdad government.

On May 18, gunmen ambushed a police patrol in Anbar Province, kidnapping eight policemen before fleeing the scene.

Iraqi Staff Lieutenant General Murdhi al-Mahalawi, head of the Anbar Operations Command, told reporters that the incident took place near the provincial capital city of Ramadi, located about 110 kilometers (70 miles) west of Baghdad.

The police forces were guarding a post on the main highway linking Iraq to both Jordan and Syria when they were kidnapped. No group claimed responsibility for the abductions.