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Iraq: Wave of deadly checkpoint attacks hits Anbar Iraq violence: Police killed in Anbar attacks
(about 14 hours later)
Militants have killed at least eight Iraqi policemen in a series of attacks in the western province of Anbar, officials say. At least 19 police officers and three civilians have been killed in a series of attacks overnight in the western Iraqi province of Anbar, officials say.
At least four officers died as a suicide bomber drove a car packed with explosives into a checkpoint at the entrance to the remote town of Rutba. The first saw a suicide bomber ram an explosives-filled car into a checkpoint in Rutba, 110km (70 miles) from the Syrian border, killing five policemen.
Shortly afterwards, four more police died when gunmen attacked three other checkpoints in the province. Another bomber blew up his vehicle near police deployed at a bypass, killing four officers and three lorry drivers.
Recent months have seen a surge in violence in Iraq. Attacks by gunmen elsewhere in Anbar left seven other officers dead.
Around a dozen people were also injured in the attacks in Rutba. They opened fire on several checkpoints west of Ramadi, along the main road that links the capital Baghdad to Jordan and Syria.
The authorities there declared a curfew afterwards, AP reports. No group has yet said it was behind the attacks, but Sunni Islamist militants linked to al-Qaeda frequently target security forces personnel.
There were no immediate claims from militant groups for the attack. There has been a surge in sectarian violence across Iraq this year.
However, correspondents say Sunni Muslim insurgents regularly target security personnel and other people working for the Shia-led government. The UN says 979 people - including 127 police and 92 military personnel - were killed in violent attacks in September, bringing the number killed this year to 5,740.
More than 6,000 people have been killed in acts of violence this year. The unrest was sparked by an army raid on a Sunni Arab anti-government protest camp in April. The protesters were calling for the resignation of Shia Prime Minister Nouri Maliki and denouncing the authorities for allegedly targeting the minority Sunni community.
Iraq has also seen a spill-over of violence from the conflict in Syria, where jihadist rebels linked to the Islamic State of Iraq, a Sunni militant umbrella group that includes al-Qaeda, have risen to prominence.
In the past two months, Iraqi security forces have reportedly arrested hundreds of alleged al-Qaeda members in and around Baghdad as part of a campaign the government is calling "Revenge for the Martyrs".
But the operations, which have taken place mostly in Sunni districts, have angered the Sunni community and failed to halt the violence.